Lane Kiffin has talked, recruited and even occasionally coached his way into the headlines. Most of this was part of his plan in his first year as the head football coach at the University of Tennessee.

Was there a method to the madness? Certainly, but whether you love or loathe his approach, the past bears repeating for its merits. Yes, he and his staff landed an impressive recruiting class despite a late start. Yes, the rest of the Southeastern Conference took notice to a team that was coming off a 5-7 season and did not figure prominently in the preseason forecast in both success and failure.

Yes, Kiffin offered a litany of one-liners that turned enough heads and headlines to become a media darling and land a spot on SEC commissioner Mike Slive's speed dial.

Now comes the chance to make national news in a manner there is no debating. Now comes the kind of challenge that can convert the toughest critic and make the season a surging success for almost everyone in Big Orange Country. Now comes Alabama.

Beat Alabama, and Kiffin and Co. will be the lead story from Cleveland to Curacao and from Hixson to Hollywood.

Beat Alabama, and all the big boasting becomes big swagger and belief within the locker room, the fan base and recruiting circles nationwide.

Beat Alabama, and there is no more discussion of Phillip Fulmer or previous 2009 disappointments against UCLA or Auburn, replaced only by the promise of the future -- both immediate and long term.

Beat Alabama, and the talk that Kiffin's first signature win was about Georgia's struggles will be gone, vanquished by the Bulldogs being simply the Volunteers' springboard.

Beat Alabama, and the current excitement mixed with anxiety common among the Vols Nation will be released, washed away by an overflow avalanche of excitement and eagerness for next Saturday, the next challenge, the next opponent and next year.

Beat Alabama, and Kiffin will no longer be the Vols' new coach. He will simply be the coach.

Beating Alabama will take a lot of work, a lot of effort and a little bit of luck. The Crimson Tide are better than just about every other football team that regularly plays on Saturday, including the Vols. Alabama is playing for a shot to continue its march toward a possible bid in the national championship game, and even Kiffin has admitted Bama has more talent.

The UT players are saying the right things, confidently stating they expect to win but that it will be difficult. So is Kiffin, who has tossed out several compliments to the Tide -- a surprising yet realistic revelation for him and this rivlary, which has been as nasty as any the last decade or so.

Kiffin has answered each question delicately this week, choosing, it seems, to placate the Tide rather than instigate them like he did the Florida Gators earlier this year.

Today is similar to the Vols' trip to Gainesville last month in that it's a road trip to play a heavily favored No. 1-ranked team.

Today is different, too. A 10-point loss today is not "fighting them to the end" in the rivalry known as the Third Saturday in October; it's simply a loss. And worse, a convincing Alabama win stunts the momentum from the Georgia win and raises a list of familiar questions that have echoed throughout Knoxville all year.

What is a reasonable expectation for a first-year coach at a program accustomed to and starving for success? What conclusions can you draw seven games into a five-year contract? What is the timetable for these Vols to return to competing with the truly elite teams in the SEC, and in turn the country?

The answers will come later this afternoon, so there are only questions this morning.

But there is no question which team has more to lose and which has more to gain.