The Alabama Crimson Tide head to Tennessee for a heated rivalry matchup against the Volunteers. However, this game carries a bit of extra weight as it marks the return of Lane Kiffin to Knoxville. The former head coach of the Vols has not been back in the state since he left in the middle of the night to take a job head coaching job at USC following the departure of Pete Carroll. Now the offensive coordinator of the Crimson Tide, Tennessee is expected to be playing with a little added motivation, some still very bitter over Kiffin's exit.
The Crimson Tide are coming off one of their most productive and effective games of the season following a 59-0 routing of Texas A&M. The game was won up front after a strong performance from the team's offensive line following a challenge from Nick Saban. The result was a dominating run game and an efficient Blake Sims. The run game put up 298 yards after being held to just 66 against Arkansas. That offensive line will get challenged once again by a strong Tennessee front that gave up 180 yards to Mississippi. Their last three losses have come down to the run game where they have given up 615 yards in that stretch. The Tide will benefit from getting a healthy Ryan Kelly back along with a healthy Austin Shepherd.
The Alabama defense is hoping to take advantage of a weak Tennessee offensive line. The unit has the No. 2 run defense in the country right now. They were recently credited with six sacks while eight different players get credit for them. Tennessee has the most inexperience line in the league. They are starting two freshman that have given up 18 sacks in the past three games. Justin Worley continues to get knocked to the ground as a result.
In the two team's last matchups, TJ Yeldon has been the star. He is coming off a 114-yard performance off just 13 carries. In the past two years against Tennessee, the running back has 201 yards and three touchdowns.
