Alabama won despite of itself against Tennessee on Saturday. Talent overcame hurdles like coaching, motivation and the lack of Bama’s players to mature and improve since losing to Texas A&M earlier this month.

Simply glancing at the score isn’t a good representation of how Alabama played in a 52-24 win over Tennessee. The Vols came out with great energy and a great plan. Alabama began the game thinking that they’d eventually find a way to win because the Tide are just so much better. That ended up being the case.

Tennessee’s defense was very multiple up front on defense. The Vols did the same thing that the Aggies did, which was use stunts, twists and varied blitzes to pressure Bryce Young. Sometimes the Vols would send 5 pass rushers. Sometimes the Vols would drop back, play zone and just send 3 pass rushers. The pressure that Tennessee put on Young caused him to almost be as dangerous when he ran the ball as when he passed it. Young rushed for just 42 yards on 10 carrie,s but the runs were timely and resulted in key first downs and  2 touchdowns. Tennessee had a plan for Bama, but no answer for Young’s running, which he has repeatedly said is not his first option.

When Alabama was on defense, things weren’t much better from a schematic standpoint early in the game. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s greatest attribute is being able to get receivers open via combination routes. That was on display against Alabama. The Crimson Tide adjusted and were able to keep the Vols under wraps in the second half, but why wasn’t Bama ready for the intricacies of Heupel’s passing attack from the beginning? This all raises concern for the Crimson Tide’s offense and defense moving forward.

So what does the Tennessee game mean for the Alabama? It means they still have plenty of work to do before they eventually meet Georgia in the SEC Championship Game — if that even occurs.

Alabama now has an off weekend. Then, the Crimson Tide will host LSU, which looked completely torn apart when they were outmatched by Ole Miss 31-17 on Saturday just days after announcing that Ed Orgeron would no longer be LSU’s head coach. After the LSU game, Alabama plays the New Mexico State Aggies and Arkansas at home before ending the regular season at Auburn for the Iron Bowl. If Alabama doesn’t improve, beating Auburn is no guarantee. Neither is playing for an SEC Championship.

Alabama players are making mistakes that Saban’s teams just don’t typically make, especially repeatedly. The Crimson Tide special teams players decide to bum rush Tennessee’s punter early in the game, which resulted in a first down, a score for UT and kept hope alive for the Vols.

The Crimson Tide had every motivation to play at a higher level and show improvement after losing to the Aggies. Bama, like always, has national championship aspirations. The Crimson Tide were humbled this season when they lost to the Texas A&M. This is usually the type of backdrop that leads to more focused players under Saban. Now, it’s hard to be sure.

Young still looks uncomfortable in the pocket at times as Alabama’s pass protection has struggled against multiple defensive fronts, but he made up for it with some key scrambles against Tennessee. That’s something that defensive coordinators on Alabama’s schedule need to be wary of. Young can run even though he really doesn’t want to. That makes Alabama much more difficult to beat even though it’s not the method of operation that they’d prefer.

Credit Alabama’s defense with its adjustments throughout the game despite the busted coverages in the secondary that helped the Vols succeed for most of three quarters. The Crimson Tide gave up some plays but eventually held their own and intercepted a pass from Hendon Hooker that essentially ended the game.

It’s that type of in-game improvement that Alabama needs from week to week. The win over Miami doesn’t look nearly as impressive as it did last month. The close call against Florida looks much worse after the Gators have struggled since the Bama game. Then, a team like Tennessee hangs in the game for nearly three quarters. Alabama’s roster and talent is much better than Tennessee’s. However, the Vols seemed more prepared with a better overall plan to try and pull the upset. That comes down to coaching, execution and motivation.

Tennessee looks to be moving pretty quickly in its first rebuilding year under Heupel. They should be credited for that. However, Alabama doesn’t deserve much credit for allowing talent to beat an ill-equipped team.

One has to wonder what Alabama will be in the championship hunt going forward. Will Alabama just be a contender or a dominant champion that is rarely doubted like it has been in the past? The Crimson Tide has had dominant teams that looked destined to win a national title before. Usually, that’s been pretty evident by late October. That’s not the case this year.

Alabama just looks like one of the teams that can win a national title, not the team that will eventually win a national title. Georgia’s résumé this season is far better than any other team in the nation when you combine their undefeated record and the challenging schedule that they’ve played.

Alabama is in a position that hundreds of teams envy. The Crimson Tide are among the handful of programs that could win a national title, but they’re not the odds-on favorite. That title belongs to Georgia.

Alabama has now won 2 games in a row — against Mississippi State and Tennessee — in which the outcome was never in doubt late in the game. On paper, the Crimson Tide’s response to that Aggie loss has been what one would expect. However, State isn’t very good and Bama had some of the same problems against the Vols that they had against Texas A&M. Without some serious improvement and a return to playing at a consistently high level, Alabama might not make the SEC Championship Game, might not beat Georgia if it gets there and is certainly not the easy favorite to win a national title.

That all seems strange to say about Alabama, but it’s true. If the Crimson Tide want to retain their national title, there is plenty of room for improvement. Without that, Alabama is a very good team with a chance to win it all — instead of a great team that seems destined to win it all.