Game Analysis:

While we’ve seen more hyped up matchups between these two teams in the past, any time we get a ranked Tennessee vs. Alabama game, it is sure to be must watch TV. The 17th ranked Volunteers will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the 11th ranked Crimson tied in a pivotal week 8 game. Tennessee enters this matchup at 5-1, and must win out for a chance at an SEC title, as they already dropped an SEC game earlier. Similarly, Alabama enters at 6-1, but remains very much alive for an SEC title berth, as their only loss was to out of conference foe Texas. 

The Tennessee Volunteers had lofty expectations entering the season following their success last year, and while it hasn’t all gone smoothly, they are still very capable of making a run in the SEC this year as they sit at a very respectable 5-1. Their fate will likely come down to a matchup with Georgia later in the season, but for now they cannot look ahead as they must take care of some tough opponents first. They did that last week, with a 20-13 home win against Texas A&M, where they trailed at halftime, but shut down the Aggies in the second half to come out victorious. This was a defensive win, as QB Joe Milton struggled, completing just 50% of his passes for 100 yards, and one score and interception each. RB Jaylen Wright led the way on offense, carrying the ball 19 times for 136 yards. Special teams played a huge part in this win as well, as Dee Williams returned a punt for a TD in the third quarter. Joe Milton will have to get back on track if the Volunteers want a shot to beat Alabama, but they have to be encouraged about the other phases of their team from last week.

The Alabama Crimson Tide seem to have garnered way less attention this year compared to most years, but they’ve still quietly cruised to a 6-1 start, with a perfect 4-0 SEC record, putting them on top of the SEC west. However, questions still remain about this team, especially after last week’s game in which they were only able to beat a 2-5 Arkansas team at home 24-21. QB Jalen Milroe wasn’t very efficient, completing under 50% of his passes, and rushing 11 times for -19 yards, but he did have 238 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, which was enough. RB Jase McClellan led the way in the running game with 83 yards, and RB Roydell Williams added 68 of his own. WR Kobe Prentice was able to haul in a 79 yard TD reception from Milroe, which was the offense’s highlight of the game. It still feels weird saying these words, but right now I’m just not sure I can trust Alabama with what they’ve showed this late into the season, so I’m taking the hungrier team in this game, the Volunteers, to keep it very close and maybe even pull out a late road win against the Tide.

Fade Bama if you dare and take the Volunteers in this one!