SEC Football Preview: Tennessee @ Alabama

The Tennessee Volunteers will travel to Tuscaloosa to face the eighth ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. The team’s rivalry, also known as the Third Saturday in October, spans back to 1901 when the teams first played, which resulted in a 6-6 tie. Since then the Crimson Tide have led the series 51-38-7, which includes an ongoing eight game win streak.

Alabama coach Nick Saban recognizes the importance of the game and wants his players prepared for the match up.

“This is a great traditional rivalry for us here at Alabama,” Saban said. “We’re doing everything we can to get our player focused and locked down.”

The Crimson Tide has to be focused as they face Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs. The junior signal caller has amassed over 1,100 passing yards and almost 400 yards rushing for a combined 13 touchdowns. Saban is very aware of the dual threat he will face this weekend.

“He’s an excellent passer, but he’s athletic, he can extend plays … he can beat you with his feet as well as his arm,” Saban said.

But the Crimson Tide is no pushover. They lead the conference in rush defense, something Tennessee head coach Butch Jones is well aware of as well.

“They lead our conference in rush defense, total defense and they do a great job with pass efficiency defense,” Jones said.

Speaking of running the ball, Alabama is pretty good at that, in large part because of Derrick Henry. Henry, a junior, has already amassed 901 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, which puts him at fourth in the SEC. Jones had praise for Henry, comparing him to Tennessee’s own Jalen Hurd.

“First one who comes to mind is Jalen Hurd, both big physical backs, physical styles of play, but also have breakaway speed to make the big play,” Jones said.

The celebratory tradition for being victorious on the Third Sunday in October is smoking cigars after the game. This a violation of NCAA rules, one that both teams openly violate and report each year for the sake of tradition.

To find out who will be smoking post game you can find coverage on ESPN Gainesville Saturday at 3:30 pm.