Rece Davis shared his thoughts on Tennessee after the 34-20 rivalry loss at Alabama last weekend.

Tennessee jumped out to a 13-0 lead and 20-7 edge at halftime before being blanked in the 2nd half. The ESPN broadcaster says how the rest of the season unfolds will be telling for the 21st ranked Vols.

Tennessee sits tied for 4th in the SEC East with Kentucky heading into the road contest at the Wildcats this weekend. There’s also a looming home matchup against No. 1 Georgia on Nov. 18.

“It’s such a really fascinating time I think for the Big Orange. Such a giant step forward last year. Now you go to Kentucky. You’ve got Georgia coming,” Davis said. “A 3-loss season probably feels like okay we didn’t have [Hendon] Hooker, we didn’t have [Jalin] Hyatt. Still really good. You start getting into that 4-loss territory or more, it feels like you missed an opportunity to keep growing.”

ESPN analyst Ryan McGee diagnoses Tennessee’s struggles specifically to the lack of consistency from quarterback Joe Milton. Milton has passed for 1,535 yards with 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

“The offensive line is playing great. Their run game is arguably the best in the Southeastern Conference. Their defense has played really well…The 1 thing that’s not working is the passing game,” McGee said. “It’s the 1 thing with Tennessee certainly under Josh Heupel you thought you could count on…It’s a bit of a tightrope going forward.”

Tennessee at Kentucky is slated for a 7 p.m. EST kickoff and will be televised on ESPN.