The Crimson Tide hits the road to face the Tennessee Volunteers tomorrow. The game comes after Alabama narrowly defeated South Carolina and the Vols beat Florida in overtime. The Tide still appears to be finding its rhythm following a loss of Vanderbilt and a come from behind victory over Georgia. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer says one goal is to reinforce what the team does well as it prepares for whatever Tennessee throws at the team…
“But we got to get enough reps at them in practice to on top of the things that we already a part of our identity,” he said. “Because if you can't execute it well in an SEC game, when things are moving that fast, there's that many good players on the football field, you know, that can, that can backfire, that can hurt you.”
The College Football Playoff future for both programs is on the line with Alabama and Tennessee each having a loss already this season. Both teams are in a four-way tie for fifth in the SEC. The Crimson Tide lost their last game at Neyland Stadium in 2022. Tennessee dropped in the Top 25 rankings after an overtime win over Florida and has an open date looming. Coach DeBoer says he’s emphasizing the fundamentals while preparing for surprises from Tennessee…
So, yeah, you know that they're gonna continue to try to find the things that really work well for them, and you got to be ready for anything and everything. But I think at this point in the year, there's still going to be some type of basis that you work off of,” he said.
The game between Alabama and Tennessee has been called the Third Saturday in October since 1939 in a rivalry where this will be just the 22nd game with both teams ranked in the top 20. Tennessee is looking for back-to-back home wins over Alabama since 2006. After Tennessee, Alabama faces Missouri at Bryant-Denny Stadium for homecoming.
