The No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide were upset by the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers 52-49 on Saturday in Knoxville, and head coach Nick Saban is blaming his defense for not being good enough late in the game.

"We played way too soft at the end to let them go down the field and get in field goal range," Saban said, per ESPN's Alex Scarborough. "So, I think that the big thing that our players need to do is learn from this experience, have more respect for playing with discipline so you don't help the other team."

The Tennessee offense drove down the field with 13 seconds remaining before kicker Chase McGrath entered to kick a 40-yard field goal with time on the clock running out to secure the win.

Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker connected with Ramel Keyton for 18 yards to reach the 50-yard line before he connected with Bru McCoy on a 27-yard pass to the Alabama 23-yard line to set up the field goal.

It was a forgettable afternoon for the Alabama defense, which allowed 567 total yards to Tennessee. Hooker completed 21-of-30 passes for 385 yards and five touchdowns against one interception while the team's rushing offense combined for 182 yards and two scores.

The 52 points Alabama allowed to Tennessee were the most allowed by a Saban team dating back to 1996 when he was at Michigan State, per Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated.

Saban added that despite the adjustments the team made on defense throughout the game, the Tennessee offense was able to capitalize on big plays too often:

“I don’t think the no-huddle offense was the issue for us. I think it was covering their receivers and allowing way too many big plays. They created a lot of mismatches. We were trying to play nickel, so they were trying to get their best receivers on our safeties and they did it a couple of times and we gave up big plays. … We made some good adjustments in the game but just gave up too many big plays. Even in the second half, they scored on big plays.”

Some of the biggest plays the Alabama defense allowed came on passes from Hooker to wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who finished the game with six catches for 207 yards and five touchdowns.

Saturday's game was a huge learning experience for the Crimson Tide, who are now 6-1 on the season entering next weekend's matchup against No. 16 Mississippi State.