KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Amari Cooper caught nine passes for a school-record 224 yards and scored two touchdowns to help No. 4 Alabama beat Tennessee 34-20 on Saturday night for its eighth consecutive victory in the series.

This game marked a return to Neyland Stadium for Alabama offensive co-ordinator Lane Kiffin, who coached Tennessee in 2009 and angered Volunteers fans by leaving for Southern California after only one season. Kiffin's offence produced touchdowns on four of its first five series -- including Cooper's 80-yard touchdown catch on Alabama's first play from scrimmage -- as the Crimson Tide (7-1, 4-1 SEC) raced to a 27-0 lead.

Tennessee (3-5, 0-4) got back into the game thanks to quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who provided a spark after entering the game on Tennessee's third possession. Dobbs helped the Vols cut the lead to 27-17 in the third quarter before Alabama's Derrick Henry stopped Tennessee's momentum with a 28-yard touchdown run.

Cooper's 224 yards receiving broke the school single-game record set by Julio Jones, who had 221 yards receiving in a 41-10 victory over Tennessee in 2010. By the end of the first quarter, Cooper already had five catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

The biggest suspense leading into the game was how the sellout crowd of 102,455 would treat Kiffin.

As fans tailgated before the game, a plane flew overhead with the message "Go Vols Beat Kiffin." One banner hanging from a parking garage featured Tennessee coach Butch Jones' face along with the message "Lane Kiffin? Never Heard of Her." At a rock on campus where students often paint various messages, the faces of Jones and Kiffin were featured with the word "future" by Jones and a crude remark next to Kiffin. Hours before the opening kickoff, all references to Kiffin on the rock were blacked out.

Alabama's team arrived at Neyland Stadium amid heavy security, but about 80 per cent of the 1,000 or so fans who gathered to watch Alabama's players and coaches step off the team bus were Tide supporters. A few of them screamed "Lane" as Kiffin headed into the locker room.

Kiffin's offence wasted no time making an impact.

On Alabama's first play from scrimmage, Cooper caught a short pass from Blake Sims, ran to his right and raced 80 yards down the Tide sideline. Cooper reached the end zone again on Alabama's second series with a 41-yard reception down the left sideline. He added a 30-yard catch on Alabama's third series to set up T.J. Yeldon's 1-yard touchdown run. Alabama gained 249 yards and scored three touchdowns on its first three possessions.

Tennessee didn't go away thanks to its own surprisingly potent offence.

The Vols entered the night having failed to score a touchdown in their last two SEC games, and they had to face Alabama without three injured starters: Worley, left guard Marcus Jackson and right tackle Coleman Thomas. But the Vols moved the ball effectively behind Dobbs, who threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 75 yards on 19 carries.

Nathan Peterman actually opened the game as Tennessee's quarterback, but Dobbs came on midway through the first quarter and stayed the rest of the way.

Tennessee scored 10 points in the final 7:03 of the first half to cut Alabama's lead to 27-10. Dobbs threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Josh Malone and got the Vols into range for Aaron Medley's 27-yard field goal on the final play of the half. After Dobbs capped Tennessee's first drive of the second half with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Von Pearson, a 27-point deficit was all the way down to 10.

But that's as close as Tennessee would get.