The third Saturday in October is set.
Both Tennessee and Alabama lost last weekend, which might actually just make the Third Saturday in October that much bigger. It’s not exactly an elimination game, but the loser of this famed rivalry might just end up on life support for a College Football Playoff bid.
Alabama — inexplicably — went to Nashville and lost the Vanderbilt Commodores. It wasn’t a fluky loss either, the ‘Dores put up 40 points on the Crimson Tide, putting a big black eye on year one of the Kalen DeBoer era.
Tennessee fans barely had a chance to enjoy that upset, as the Volunteers went down to Fayetteville and blew a 14-3 lead. The Volunteers struggled in just about every way possible offensively, allowing Arkansas to come storming back late and win it with a late touchdown. Offensive line issues, clock management issues, penalties… it all added up and resulted in a loss for Josh Heupel’s squad.
Tennessee will look to rebound with Florida this weekend before turning their sights to Alabama on October 19th. The SEC announced a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff, with ABC carrying the broadcast.
#SECFB on TV: Oct. 19
Updates: https://t.co/Uo3Op9W0Jh pic.twitter.com/je2OXtZxkK
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) October 7, 2024
Obviously, given the results of last weekend, Georgia-Texas gets the primetime ABC slot.
From a Tennessee perspective, the Volunteers have to hold serve on the rest of their should-win games on the schedule. Their mulligan is long gone. On top of that, they likely at least have to split the Alabama and Georgia games to secure a spot in the 12-team CFP field. That’s going to be no easy task.
For Heupel, all focus is on a bounce-back win against the Gators this Saturday. Tennessee is 15.5 point favorite.