Alabama coach Nick Saban watches the first half against Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.Tide, Take, Three• 1. Alabama has played Tennessee more times (95) than any other opponent except for Mississippi State (97).• 2. The Crimson Tide lowered their rushing defense average to 62.9 yards a game after holding Texas A&M to 24 carries for 31 yards this past Saturday.• 3. Alabama junior receiver Amari Cooper ranks fifth nationally in receptions per game (8.9) and fourth in yards per game (129.7).
Alabama offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Lane Kiffin speaks to the media before practice Tuscaloosa, Ala., in this file photo.Alabama-Tennessee has not been much of a football rivalry in recent years, but the Crimson Tide insist there will be no shortage of desire this Saturday when they visit Neyland Stadium.
The Tide have won seven consecutive games against the Volunteers, a streak that coincides with coach Nick Saban's arrival at Tuscaloosa in 2007. Alabama has defeated Tennessee by at least 20 points on six of those occasions, and no current Tide player has tasted victory over the Vols by fewer than 31 points.
"Personally, I hear a lot about this rivalry from older fans, and I let them motivate us," Alabama senior left guard Arie Kouandjio said. "A lot of people care about this game around this state and around this program. We know Tennessee is one of our big rivals, and we respect them."
Alabama's seven-game surge has given it a 50-38-7 advantage in the series that dates back to 1901. No other team has defeated Tennessee so many times, and no other team has defeated Alabama so many times: Auburn is 35-42-1 versus its Iron Bowl rival.
The only close call since Saban's stranglehold began took place in 2009, when Terrence Cody's block of Daniel Lincoln's 44-yard field-goal attempt preserved Alabama's 12-10 triumph at Bryant-Denny Stadium. That Tennessee team was coached by Lane Kiffin, who left Knoxville after 13 months to head the program at Southern Cal and now is in his first season as Saban's offensive coordinator.
Kiffin's return to Neyland has been a topic of discussion since Saban hired him in January. In his one speaking appearance before the season, Kiffin was asked about this week's trip and said, "We had a great year there, and the people were phenomenal. I really loved being there, and it was just a unique situation that came about. You can't look back. I don't live that way."
Not surprisingly, Saban was asked a couple of questions Monday about Kiffin's return.
"The only experience I have is when I went back to Baton Rouge," Saban said. "It was very negative, getting hung in effigy, burned at the stake, and just about everything that could happen happened. The way I tried to manage that with the players was to let them know that was going to happen in advance and not to be affected by it.
"I knew it would be rowdy when we got off the bus to go in the locker room but that it would have nothing to do with what happened in the game. That was going to come down to what we did on the field, so I would hope that it's our approach to do the same thing in this game."
The Crimson Tide and Vols will collide Saturday night from two very different directions.
Tennessee dropped to 3-4 and 0-3 within the Southeastern Conference last Saturday with a 34-3 loss at Ole Miss. The Vols rushed 28 times for zero net yards against the Rebels and allowed seven sacks.
Alabama, meanwhile, jumped to No. 4 in the country after thumping Texas A&M 59-0 to improve to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in SEC play. The Tide held the Aggies to 31 rushing yards and tallied six sacks.
The Vols have averaged just 99.3 rushing yards in their last three losses to Alabama.
"I know it's a big game to our fans and a big game to Coach Saban," Tide safety Landon Collins said. "It's definitely a rivalry game, and we'll be ready for it."
Tide tidbits
Senior center Ryan Kelly practiced with the starters Monday after missing the past two games with a sprained knee, but Saban said right tackle Austin Shepherd (knee sprain) will be limited the next couple of days. ... Sophomore tailback Altee Tenpenny had eight rushes for 30 yards against the Aggies but was on the scout team Monday emulating Tennessee freshman tailback Jalen Hurd.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.