This weekend, Alabama and Tennessee renew their annual rivalry on The Third Saturday in October.
The stakes in this one are high. Both teams come in at 5-1 with road upset losses on their resumes, Alabama falling at Vanderbilt and Tennessee losing at South Carolina. The winner will have a nice data point to add to its College Football Playoff case, but the loser will leave itself no margin for error moving forward. Longtime SEC and ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum laid out all the circumstances during a conversation with Mike Greenberg on First Take Friday.
“I think the loser of this game is in really big trouble,” Finebaum told Greenberg.
“I think the loser of this game is in really big trouble.” 😯
—@finebaum on No. 7 Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee pic.twitter.com/kpd3wFUAyP
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 18, 2024
“Let’s say Tennessee loses. They don’t have an impressive win any longer, because they beat Oklahoma, and that didn’t amount to anything,” Finebauk explained. “[Beat] NC State…They have nothing on their resume, so they’d be in trouble. They also have a game at Georgia in November which I can not imagine them winning.”
Alabama, Finebaum conceded, is in “a little better shape with a loss” but still said it would cause ‘DEFCON 1″ if they fell to the Volunteers.
The Crimson Tide also have a road game at LSU coming up later in the season, making it even more imperative they win on Saturday.
Alabama and Tennessee will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday from Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
The Crimson Tide won last year’s matchup in Tuscaloosa by two touchdowns, but the last time the Vols were the home team two years ago, they won 52-49 to snap a 15-game losing streak to Alabama.
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