The autumn colors of crimson and orange will provide a sharp contrast Saturday afternoon when No. 7 Alabama visits Neyland Stadium to challenge No. 11 Tennessee in one of the Southeastern Conference’s most tradition-rich football rivalries.
It’s the 107th meeting between the bordering programs, which have met annually since 1928 with the exception of 1943, when both schools suspended football amid World War II.
“It means a lot,” Tennessee’s Omari Thomas said earlier this week in a news conference. “It’s the Third Saturday in October. It’s Tennessee-Alabama. It’s why you come to Tennessee — to play in big games like this and to win big games like this. This is the last chance to play Bama in Neyland for me, so it’s very exciting.”
Said fellow fifth-year Volunteers defensive tackle Bryson Eason: “The history of the two schools speaks for itself. I’m just ready to go out there and play for the ‘Power T.'”
Alabama and Tennessee will enter with matching 5-1 overall records and 2-1 conference marks.
The Crimson Tide, who are under the direction of first-year coach Kalen DeBoer, registered a noteworthy 41-34 outlasting of Georgia on Sept. 28 before succumbing 40-35 at Vanderbilt the following week, representing their first loss to the Commodores in 40 years. Alabama rebounded last weekend with a win but not an impressive win, holding off South Carolina 27-25 in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama’s second game of the season was a 42-16 defeat of the University of South Florida, with the Tide outscoring the Bulls 28-3 in the fourth quarter. USF is coached by Alex Golesh, who served as Josh Heupel’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee during the 2021-22 seasons and employs the same rapid tempo the Vols prefer to use.
“There is certainly some carryover, and a lot of it just starts with tempo and alignments and things like that,” DeBoer said. “A lot revolves around the run game, but South Florida’s quarterback is such a major player with his feet. Not that Nico (Iamaleava) isn’t, because he’s certainly a really athletic guy, but they’re handing the ball off more than what South Florida did.
“Tennessee has some great speed on the outside, so they let Nico sling it around and use his arm talent. He’s got a live arm.”
Tennessee, meanwhile, raced out to a 4-0 start that included a 25-15 triumph Sept. 21 at Oklahoma, which spoiled the SEC debut for the Sooners against a league opponent. The Vols then stumbled 19-14 at Arkansas before also posting a less-than-convincing rebound with last Saturday night’s 23-17 topping of Florida in overtime.
The Alabama-Tennessee loser will endure a second setback, which could require that team to win its remaining games to qualify for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
“It’s a historical rival and a great opponent,” Heupel said. “It’s one everybody in our program points to every single year, and our fan base does, too, obviously.”
Alabama holds a commanding 60-39-7 series advantage, breaking free from a 23-23-7 deadlock that existed following Tennessee’s 24-0 blanking of Bear Bryant’s Tide in 1970. Bryant then guided Alabama to 11 consecutive series victories from 1971-81, and that run would be topped by Nick Saban, who led the Tide to 15 straight wins from 2007-21.
The Vols finally snapped that streak with a 52-49 upset in Neyland two years ago that was decided by Chase McGrath’s 40-yard field goal as time expired, so Tennessee’s veteran players now have the chance to prove the 2022 thriller wasn’t a one-time occurrence.
“I think we’re all excited for it,” fifth-year senior center Cooper Mays said. “I think maybe I might be a little more excited because I am local, but I think we all know what the challenge means and what it means to this fan base and to this program. I think everybody is ready for it.”
Greene to Pitt
Allen Greene, who has been Tennessee’s senior deputy athletics director/chief operating officer since last December, has been named the new athletic director at Pittsburgh. Greene served as Auburn’s AD from 2018 to 2022.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.