Alabama vs. Georgia was the biggest SEC football game in the first half of the season. And the game lived up to the hype.

The Crimson Tide looked like a national champion in building a 28-0 lead. Georgia struck with an epic comeback. Finally, Alabama regained the lead on a touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe to freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams for a 41-34 victory.

It was a great game between good — but not great — teams. As entertaining as it was, neither team matched the championship level that we have come to expect from them.

Their play is a big reason why Tennessee fans still can be optimistic about the Vols making the College Football Playoff.

Never mind how vulnerable UT (5-1, 2-1 SEC) looked in an upset loss to Arkansas and last week’s 23-17 overtime victory over Florida. Or that its passing game hasn’t come close to living up to its preseason billing or coach Josh Heupel’s reputation. The No. 10 Vols still don’t look overmatched against No. 7 Alabama, who they face Saturday at Neyland Stadium, or against No. 4 Georgia at Sanford Stadium on Nov. 16.

Not only did Georgia lose to Alabama, but its offense sputtered all evening in a 13-12 victory over Kentucky. And it couldn’t pull away from Mississippi State on Saturday after building a 27-10 lead at home. The Bulldogs settled for a 41-31 victory while giving up 306 yards passing to the SEC’s worst team.

Alabama (5-1, 2-1) seems even more beatable, and not just because of its historic 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt. The Tide struggled to defeat South Carolina 27-25 at Bryant-Denny Stadium last week while demonstrating shortcomings you don’t expect to see from them.

The Tide averaged just 2.7 yards per rush against the Gamecocks. That’s an alarming statistic for a team whose offensive line was ranked as one of the nation’s five best in preseason.

Milroe is clearly Alabama’s best running threat. The two running backs, Justice Haynes and Jam Miller, combined for only 68 yards on 20 carries against South Carolina’s defensive front, which is one of the best in the SEC. But it’s not better than Tennessee’s and certainly can’t match the Vols’ depth.

The Tide have frailties on defense as well. They repeatedly have been victimized by third- and fourth-down conversions. Moreover, their secondary has consistently given up big pass plays the past three weeks.

The secondary failures were most apparent in the second half against Georgia but also were obvious against Vanderbilt and South Carolina. The coverage breakdowns are more noticeable because of Alabama’s history under former coach Nick Saban, who mentored defensive backs as a position coach and continued to take a hands-on approach with the secondary as a head coach.

His defensive reputation took a hit against Tennessee two years ago when quarterback Hendon Hooker completed 21 of 30 passes for 385 yards and five touchdowns in UT’s 52-49 victory at Neyland Stadium.

Other quarterbacks have been impressive against Alabama in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season. That helps explain why the Tide rank 55th nationally in total defense. Putting that in perspective: Vanderbilt ranks 54th. Imagine that.

Georgia has been better defensively but not up to its usual top-five standards, ranking 28th.

Strangely, it's Tennessee — not Georgia or Alabama — playing elite defense. The Vols rank second in the nation, allowing only 249.8 yards per game.

Stats don’t fully account for how tough UT’s defense has been. You need to see it in action. You also need to see the opposing quarterbacks and running backs limping to the sideline. Finishing a game against Tennessee’s defense has become a challenge.

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The Vols' offense is a mess, but it still can count on running back Dylan Sampson finding the end zone while amassing rushing yards along the way. His running, and a dominant defense, have kept the Vols in playoff contention.

In a typical SEC season, that wouldn’t be enough to prevail against Alabama and Georgia. Fortunately for the Vols, there’s nothing typical about the way those SEC powerhouses have been playing.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football offense is mess, but Alabama has problems, too