Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Complete Game Preview

When fourth-ranked Alabama travels to Neyland Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers next Saturday night, it's shaping up to be a battle of two teams heading in drastically different directions.

Following a 59-0 dismantling of Texas A&M, the Crimson Tide are living up to their preseason billing as one of the nation's most dominant teams after taking a few weeks (and a loss) to get their sea legs.

The Vols played admirably against tough opponents such as Oklahoma and Georgia earlier this season. But in their past two SEC games, they lost 10-9 at home against Florida and were blown out at No. 3 Ole Miss.

Their offense is in shambles, and their defensive prowess is wasted.

Now, UT will play its biggest rival in a series that recently hasn't been much of a rivalry. A game that appeared to have promise for an upset not so long ago looks far-fetched now.

In a series of streaks, the Tide have won seven consecutive. The past four margins have been by 31, 31, 31 and 35 points. It may not be much different Saturday.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know about the famed "Third Saturday in October," which again will be played on the fourth Saturday of the month this year.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 25

Time: 7:30 ET

Place: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Vol Network, Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network, Sirius/XM 84

Spread: Alabama by 15.5 points, according to Oddsshark.com.

Tennessee Keys to Victory

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Game of their Lives

Let's face it: It's going to take an unbelievable and uncharacteristically dynamic effort for Tennessee to have a chance to win this football game.

The Vols are ready to play pretty much anybody on defense if their offense can sustain drives, score some points and keep them fresh. After sacking Bo Wallace five times and stopping Ole Miss runners behind the line of scrimmage various others, UT's defense is playing at a high level.

Its offense is a different story. Senior quarterback Justin Worley's health is unclear after failing to return from a fourth-quarter injury against the Rebels. If he can play, he needs his best college game.

UT's talented receivers have to wake up and produce against an Alabama secondary that is getting better but has been suspect at times. And the Vols must generate something positive on the ground with Jalen Hurd.

A couple of mistakes forced, and a defensive or special teams touchdown wouldn't hurt, either.

This young Vols team is talented in spots, but it hasn't proven yet it can play with the big boys. This game most certainly qualifies as one of those.

Find a Front

As if things weren't bad enough on the offensive line, the Vols were forced to replace starting tackle Coleman Thomas and their best offensive lineman, junior guard Marcus Jackson, after both sustained injuries against Ole Miss.

Though UT head coach Butch Jones didn't update their statuses following the game, he discussed with Volquest.com's Grant Ramey (subscription required) his shuffling of the line that included inserting redshirt freshman guard Austin Sanders and flipping tackles Brett Kendrick and Kyler Kerbyson.

Also, Jacob Gilliam played just 49 days after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament against Utah State.

"Trying to get the best five on there," Jones told Ramey curtly. 

It can't be considered a good thing if Jackson is out. But the Vols have to mix things up and find a formula that works for a group that has allowed 30 sacks. Alabama isn't the right time to be experimenting, but UT doesn't have a choice.

Bank on Bama Road Woes

The sample set isn't very large, but this Alabama team has been totally different on the road than it has at home.

In two games, the Tide lost at Ole Miss and then struggled mightily in a 14-13 win over Arkansas.

Tennessee has to hope Bama just loses focus away from the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium. But after Nick Saban standing up for his team following the game against the Razorbacks and UA responding resoundingly, that doesn't look likely.

The Vols need a rowdy night crowd in Neyland Stadium, and they need to capitalize off all that energy and make things difficult on Blake Sims and Co.

Alabama Keys to Victory

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Bottle It Up

What Alabama did Saturday against Texas A&M was perhaps the most dominating performance of a quality team this entire season.

The Tide scored 35 second-quarter points, got a brilliant performance from quarterback Blake Sims and shut out the Aggies in a 59-0 eye-opener.

"I think this is as close as we can get to the Alabama football that we want to try to get from our players in terms of effort, toughness, emotional excitement and execution that we got throughout the game," Alabama coach Nick Saban told The Associated Press (via ESPN.com).

No matter what UA did, it worked. The receivers were scintillating. T.J. Yeldon was everything he was expected to be when he was an elite prospect. The defense was dominant. It was an unreal performance that looked like it came from a title contender.

Bama needs to somehow replicate that formula week after week.

Talent Trump

Saban has built a well-oiled machine fueled by top-rated recruiting classes every year that is the envy of college football teams everywhere.

Tennessee has experienced recruiting success just a rung below UA under Butch Jones, but two classes don't equal the years of talent Saban has stockpiled in Tuscaloosa.

Sometimes, Bama has been its own worst enemy. But when offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin gets the football to his playmakers and cuts the cute stuff, there are few teams in the country who can hang with the Tide. Defensively, Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart are demanding, but UA's youngsters are growing up there, too.

Tennessee isn't one of those teams that can match up from a talent perspective. Bama just needs to impose its will and throw its waves of players at the Vols. There probably won't be an answer.

Matchup Nightmares

At one point Saturday night, Ole Miss got tight end Evan Engram matched up on UT defensive end Corey Vereen in what quickly became a touchdown catch.

While the strength of defensive coordinator John Jancek's defense is throwing a lot of different, versatile looks at offenses with hybrid players and athletic defenders, it can get UT in mismatches.

One thing Bama should try to do is get athletic sophomore tight end O.J. Howard matched up against A.J. Johnson, who isn't a coverage linebacker. There are other situations that Kiffin will try to exploit, such as finding the inexperienced true freshmen defensive backs when they wind up guarding Amari Cooper.

With Alabama's athletes, those plays can go for big touchdowns. The Vols need to guard against it.

Tennessee Players to Watch

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Josh Malone

There weren't many bright spots in UT's 34-3 loss at Ole Miss, but the freshman receiver from Gallatin was one of those.

Starting in place of hobbled Von Pearson (who played), Malone enjoyed his best collegiate game, catching five passes for 75 yards and flashing the skills that made him one of the most coveted high school receivers a year ago.

While Marquez North has sputtered along, Malone shines. He needs some help from his receiver mates, but he was UT's top target against the Rebels. That bodes well for his bright future.

Brett Kendrick

When the 6'6", 316-pound redshirt freshman offensive tackle got the first crack at replacing injured Jacob Gilliam against Arkansas State, he struggled so much he was replaced by a true freshman.

But after Coleman Thomas was hurt against Ole Miss, Kendrick entered and played admirably, especially in the pass-blocking situations where UT's line has struggled all season. Kendrick's improvement the past month gives a glimmer of hope in a very bleak offensive line situation.

He's athletic, he's nimble, he's big and he's young. With UT needing some viable players to step up along the front, Kendrick should get more chances. He'll have another tall task against Alabama.

Corey Vereen

Last season, Vereen was by far the most gifted pass-rusher on Tennessee's roster. He'd been lost in the shuffle this season on a team whose headlines have been dominated by freshman Derek Barnett and junior Curt Maggitt.

The Winter Park, Florida, sophomore finally showed he's still around and still pretty good against the Rebs.

He finished with six tackles, including 2.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks. Vereen was aggressive off the edge and made things difficult on Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace. Tennessee needs him to continue to progress moving forward. That just gives UT another potential defensive star.

Alabama Players to Watch

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Amari Cooper

He isn't getting a whole lot of Heisman Trophy talk because receivers normally don't, but Alabama's junior wide receiver is among the most elite players in the nation.

So far this season (in seven games), he has caught 62 passes for 908 yards and seven touchdowns, which is an average of 129.7 yards per game. Blake Sims gets him the football in every way imaginable, and Bama fans sit back and watch the electrifying athlete do the rest.

The Vols know all about Cooper's abilities. He took a bubble screen to the house against UT last year, and in two games against them, he has 12 catches for 237 yards and three touchdowns.

Considering he already has five 100-yard receiving games this year, it's going to be a tough matchup for UT.

But seeing him one-on-one with Cameron Sutton could be very fun.

Blake Sims

The Gainesville (Georgia) High School teammate of A.J. Johnson waited his turn four years behind A.J. McCarron until getting an opportunity this season.

After a brief two-game lull against Ole Miss and Arkansas, Sims was back to playing at a high level against Texas A&M. So far this season, he has exceeded everybody's expectations.

The man expected to back up Jacob Coker has completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,748 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions this season. As he showed against the Aggies, he's also a huge threat on the ground in the open field.

UT's pass defense has been stout, but Sims is going to be a big test. When he's on, Bama is impossible to stop.

Landon Collins

The preseason favorite for the SEC's Defensive Player of the Year has been quietly excellent this year, though he probably isn't the leader for the award right now.

That distinction should go to either Ole Miss cornerback Senquez Golson or A.J. Johnson if it was handed out today.

But that doesn't mean the Vols shouldn't be cognizant of the best player on the field. Collins will be a lock first-round draft pick and has two interceptions and 49 tackles to lead Bama. He is a ball-hawking, hard-hitting athlete who can change the game in a second.

The way Justin Worley is struggling, Collins must be licking his chops. 

What They're Saying

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Battered and bruised Tennessee senior quarterback Justin Worley knows his team's morale is down after yet another lopsided loss, but it's no time to hang heads with Bama coming to town.

Somehow, he said, UT has to carry on. There is still plenty for which to play. Worley told reporters in the postgame press conference, according to UTSports.com:

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We all know we have to step up. Our season can't end here in Oxford. All of our dreams and goals are still alive. We have to do a good job of rallying and sticking together and getting ready for this week.

"

Alabama coach Nick Saban is about as hard-lined a coach as it gets in college football. He's demanding, he is always working and rarely smiling, and he is notoriously difficult to coach for and to play under.

But nobody should doubt the Nicktator's role as a motivator.

After coming out in the media and blowing up toward UA fans and their expectations and standing up for his players, Bama responded with a throttling of Texas A&M. Mission accomplished for Saban, according to The Associated Press:

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Sometimes you get people so tight and so tensed up and so anxious that they don't play with the kind of personality that they're capable of. That's something that we've been working on since the Ole Miss game, and I think our players have responded to it. I think they're having more fun, which is really what we want them to do.

"

Things are always fun when you're winning by 60.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker (subscription required) summarized the team's frustration with the process of building a program following another humbling loss. Though UT is improving, it's difficult to always see on the scoreboard:

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Perhaps it's no consolation—it should be, but for many it won't—that for as much as Tennessee's loss at Ole Miss felt like last season's loss at Missouri, the Vols played better in Oxford than they played in Columbia.

So, yes, Jones does see the strides. Anyone who knows football and can stomach watching the Vols take their lumps can see the strides.

But, no, Jones doesn't expect everyone to see the strides.

The Tennessee fan base showed up in force Saturday night at Ole Miss, just like it did earlier this season at Oklahoma, and last season at Oregon, and every other place the Vols have played since Jones came to Knoxville and got people talking about bricks. Those people are pumping gosh-knows-how-many dollars and gosh-knows-how-much emotional investment into the process. They want to believe. They really do. It's tough to blame them for being frustrated. Who wouldn't be frustrated at this point?

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Prediction

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Tennessee just has too many holes.

Vols quarterback Justin Worley hasn't played well against an SEC opponent since Georgia. They haven't been able to muster anything on the ground since Jalen Hurd got dinged up against Florida. And their talented receivers are underachieving.

Meanwhile, Alabama is clicking on all cylinders.

Tennessee would love nothing more than to end the seven-year streak and punish Nick Saban for hiring the hated Lane Kiffin, but it just isn't going to happen this year.

Rather than worry about winning the game, UT needs to focus on making offensive strides for the games it can win down the road. 

That may seem harsh to say, but there is so much work to be done currently, the Vols have to prepare for games against South Carolina, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Kentucky that will determine whether or not the Vols go bowling.

Bama is the trees in front of UT, but the forest awaits. There are issues along the offensive front that need to be ironed out, players to get healthy and tons of breaks that have to go UT's way if its going to pull off a monumental upset.

In the distant past, the records could be thrown out when these two teams stepped onto the field for what turned into one of the South's richest rivalries. Don't bet on it this week.

Prediction: Alabama 38, Tennessee 10