Tennessee football at Alabama: 10 keys for Vols and Crimson Tide

9. Field goal kicking for the Tide

One huge advantage for Tennessee football all years has been field goal kicking. Brent Cimaglia is 11-of-12 on the year. More importantly than that, he has nailed a field goal beyond 50 yards and multiple field goals beyond 45 yards. Last week, he hit a 47-yarder at halftime that played a huge role in the Vols building a second-half two-score lead and allowed them to stay conservative.

It’s a completely different story for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Well, to be fair, this has always been a story. But Bama has been using two different kickers, Joseph Bulovas and Will Reichard. Both have missed an extra point, and Reichard is only four-of-seven on field goals. Bulovas is at least three-of-four, and is remaining the starter.

But you have to question how long that consistency can last. If the Vols can do 1,000 other things to make this a close game, the difference between Cimaglia and Alabama’s kicking could be huge. In fact, what if Cimaglia makes three long field goals while the Tide miss a couple of chip shots and an extra point, and this is something like a 30-16 game late?

Hey, you could see field goal issues keeping this game within reach for a while, and that’s a big issue for the Tide. They’ve got to make sure they don’t let that happen, and it’s where field goal kicking comes into play. This is assuming, however, that Cimaglia remains consistent on the other side of the ball.