An entire generation of Tennessee Volunteers fans has waited for this moment. It indeed looks like the Volunteers program has returned to national prominence. And there is no better litmus test for college football prominence than taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide has dominated the sport since Nick Saban resurrected a struggling Alabama program in 2007.
The Vols are rolling faster than a pick-up down a Tennessee by-way. Josh Heupel‘s up-tempo offense is leading the nation in several offensive categories. And while the defense — especially the secondary — has struggled, the Vols defense put together a dominant performance last week against LSU.
But beware the Ides of Georgia. This week’s hype is eerily similar to the first Saturday in October 2015. Alabama had lost to Ole Miss two weeks before and Georgia had sprinted out to a 4-0 start. Almost every national analyst predicted that this was the game where Kirby Smart and Georgia would take the reigns as Kings of the SEC. It was not to be. Alabama cruised into Athens and dismantled Georgia 38-10 in front of a 3:30 national audience. Alabama would go on to win the national championship that year and Georgia would lose two more out of their next three (Tennessee and Florida).
Vols Host Alabama: Three Things to Look For
But make no mistake about it: Tennessee is a legitimately good football team and they finally have the talent, and maybe even enough depth, to go toe-to-toe with Alabama. The Third Saturday In October is one of the sport’s great rivalries, albeit largely gathering dust since Tennessee’s last win in 2006. The two programs went in opposite directions after 2006. Tennessee fired Phillip Fulmer two years later and rotated through an embarrassing turnstile of ineffective coaches. Alabama brought in Saban in 2007 and he has put together the greatest resume in the history of college football coaching.
If the Vols are going to score the biggest program win in 20 years, here are three things they’ll have to do.
Couldn’t Feel Better…
The injury report will play a big factor in this weekend’s game. Tennessee expects to get Cedric Tillman back from a high ankle spring injury suffered in the Akron game. They’ll look to get Gerald Mincey back as well. Mincey and the additional depth on the offensive line might be more important than Tillman as Tennessee’s receiving corps has missed a beat in Tillman’s absence. Regardless, having a player of Tillman’s caliber only makes an offense even more lethal.
Tennessee stacks up quite fairly evenly against Alabama on front-line talent, but once you start getting into the two- and three-deep, Alabama has a decided advantage. Tennessee needs a bit of luck to stay healthy during the game. An injury at running back or linebacker would expose the Vols at those two paper-thin position groups. One of the more underrated aspects of Tennessee’s win against LSU, however, was the performance of Jeremiah Crawford and Dayne Davis in place of Mincey. The Vols gave up zero sacks and rushed for 250 yards with Crawford and Davis rotating in Mincey’s tackle position.
And, of course, Bryce Young‘s injury status will play a significant role in the outcome of Saturday’s game. Young’s backup, Jalen Milroe, was not sharp in Alabama’s close win over Texas A&M last Saturday. Milroe only completed 44% of his passes against Arkansas and was a pedestrian 12-19 for 111 yards and one interception against the Aggies. Milroe was also sacked four times against A&M. Historically, Tennessee has provided much-needed relief for backup quarterbacks, but this Tennessee team seems to be bucking a lot of trends. Either way, the Tennessee defense will need to keep the Alabama quarterback parked in a holler to stymie the Tide offense.
What to Look For: Gerald Mincey and Cedric Tillman are healthy enough to play and have no injuries.
Worked Hard All Week…
If victory or defeat rests on one person or position group this week, it’s the Tennessee Offensive Line. Tennessee has proven talent at quarterback and receiver. If the offensive line can handle the Alabama front seven Tennessee will put points on the board.
Most importantly, the line must give Heisman hopeful Hendon Hooker time and space to run the offense. Look for Alabama to apply pressure early and often to test the Tennessee line. If Hooker can get the ball out or find a lane to escape in, Tennessee will have success on offense. This is a big question mark, but remember LSU’s defensive front terrorized Mississippi State’s Will Rogers but was largely ineffective against Tennessee’s front five.
In the run game, Tennessee doesn’t have to be dominant, but they do have to give Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright a little space. Alabama’s linebackers are quick and tough — no surprise there — and Small and Wright likely can’t win the one-on-one battles at the line of scrimmage without at least a little daylight. It’ll be interesting to see how Alabama schemes Tennessee’s offense. Will they test the line and focus on stopping the running game and in effect put the game on Hooker’s arm, or will they sit back in zone coverage and give the Vols options. Expect Saban trusts his secondary enough and chooses the former. Tennessee’s front five will have to answer Alabama’s challenge with a little jingle on a Tennessee Saturday night for the Vols to get a big win.
What to Look For: < 2 sacks and 150 rushing yards.
Free As The Feelin’ In The Wind…
Tennessee has shown it can handle pressure. They battled through a sub-par performance for a gritty road win at Pittsburgh. The Vols handled the weeklong hysteria of the Florida match-up, with GameDay in town and the weight of expectations on the program’s shoulder, and they went into the nation’s most hostile environment last week and punched LSU right in the mouth. They’ve shown maturity and that they can handle pressure.
They’ll need to take the next step on Saturday: live up to their own expectations. The Vols will need to play relaxed and loose — and mistake-free. That’s a combination that’s not easily done – it takes a special game to match those qualities up. Tennessee still hasn’t played their A-game on either offense or defense. A confident group playing loose and feeding off what will be ravenous fans underneath a mountain moonlight and desperately hungry for a postgame cigar might just get the job done.
What to Look For: Win the Turnover Battle
Vols host Alabama: The Last Word
You always get nervous when things seem to be going too well. And, as discussed earlier, this is eerily similar to the 2015 Alabama-Georgia situation. If we’ve learned anything in the past 15 years, it’s to not bet against Nick Saban.
Tennessee is a great team, but Alabama is loaded with top-tier talent and they’ve been in these situations many, many times before. Nick Saban is the greatest college football coach of all time for a reason. Even if Jalen Milroe plays, he’ll have one more week under his belt.
It’ll be close, but no cigar for Tennessee. Alabama gets out of Knoxville with two things: a slim win and renewed rivalry with a Tennessee team that promises to go head-to-head with Alabama for the years to come.
Alabama: 34
Tennessee: 31
