Nick Saban has never lost to Tennessee as Alabama’s football coach, and Josh Heupel has never lost to the Crimson Tide as coach of the Volunteers.
Of course, one of these feats is a lot more impressive than the other.
Heupel will get his first crack at Alabama (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) on Saturday night inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, where he will try to do something that predecessors Jeremy Pruitt, Butch Jones, Derek Dooley, Lane Kiffin and Phillip Fulmer couldn’t – defeat Saban’s Tide. The Vols (4-3, 2-2) have lost 14 straight series meetings with Saban on the opposing sideline and are heading to Tuscaloosa as 25-point underdogs.
“For us, it’s really important that we continue to build the culture and build our program,” Heupel said. “Absolutely, it’s important to get a win in this football game and this rivalry between the two schools, but for us its about controlling the controllables and continuing to grow and continuing to prepare the right way.
“Our players continue to get better week by week, and this is our next opportunity.”