In terms of college football rivalries, the battle between Tennessee and Alabama has certainly been an entertaining one. While the matchup has been onesided as of late, the games always come down to the wire and feature quality football regardless of what state the team is in. This year is expected to be no different as the Crimson Tide face off against the Volunteers in what will be another entertaining chapter in the history of the two teams.
The Crimson Tide come into the game with some momentum. The team has beaten two top-10 teams on the road in both UGA and Texas A&M, but they have yet to look productive in home games. They fell to Ole Miss at home and had a scare against Arkansas. Now they must use the home crowd to their advantage with Tennessee coming into town looking for redemption. The Tide's defense looks to once again be the different maker in this matchup. In the past four games they have stamped themselves as one of the best units in the country with four interceptions returned for touchdowns. Three of those came against A&M. However, Alabama has found themselves also victims of turnovers as Jake Coker must eliminate the mistakes against the Volunteers.
The Tide will face one of their weaknesses on Saturday in mobile quarterback Josh Dobbs. Recently that has been the downfall of Alabama as several quarterbacks in the past have beaten them with their legs. Dobbs is coming off a bye week so he is healthy after having a big game against Georgia with 312 yards and three touchdowns through the air and another 118 yards and a touchdown on the ground. If Tennessee is going to beat Alabama it will be because Dobbs can move well. Tennessee has been dealing with some injuries up front which could help the Alabama defense get to Dobbs, but the quarterback might be the biggest x-factor in the game.
For the Tide, Coker must once again try and protect the football. The quarterback has been an interception machine this season and he cannot afford those mistakes against Tennessee. He has been helped by Derrick Henry who continues to be the workhorse of the offense. Last week, Henry torched the defense of A&M and will look to do the same against Tennessee.