I really think Tennessee has a chance against Alabama in football for the first time since I was nine years old.
I remember when I started writing for Tunnel Vision Sports, we were on a Zoom meeting, discussing the NFL Draft but somehow got on the topic of college rivalries. My colleagues quickly talked about how Michigan-Ohio State is the best rivalry in college football, followed by Alabama-Auburn. I, the new guy at the time, interrupted and said, “What about Alabama-Tennessee?”. I was immediately clowned. The common notion being that the matchups between the Volunteers and Crimson Tide are far from a rivalry. I tried telling them they didn’t get it and how it is a great rivalry, but they thought I was a silly goose. They just didn’t get it, and I can’t blame them.
Flash forward to now, October 2022. This Saturday, No. 3 Alabama hits the road to take on No. 6 Tennessee, and this game has been crowned the biggest of the weekend and maybe of the early season. The same weekend that features No. 10 Penn State against No. 4 Michigan and No. 7 USC against No. 20 Utah. The talk in the college football world is about how the rivalry between the Tide and Vols is back to where it should be and how it is, in fact, one of the best in all of college football. Josh Pate, one of my personal favorite college football personalities, sent out a tweet, and I won’t try to replicate it, I’ll just let you read it:
Josh couldn’t be more on the money. I am a younger Tennessee fan who can’t really remember the days of this rivalry being competitive. I wish I could say I remember the last time Tennessee beat Alabama in 2006, but I don’t. I actually just now watched the highlights for the first ever. It was #7 Tennessee hosting an unraked Alabama squad. The game was low scoring and dominated by defense; Tennessee was able to defeat the Tide 16-13.
A History Lesson
Since that game in 2006, Alabama has beaten Tennessee 15 times. Sophomores in high school do not know a world in which the Volunteers have scored more points than the Crimson Tide in an American football contest. All they know is the dominance of Alabama in that time frame. Alabama hired Nick Saban in 2007 and never looked back. In Saban’s 16 seasons with the Tide, he has a 189-25 record. That includes nine SEC West tiles, eight SEC Championships, and six national championships. Saban has built one of the greatest dynasties ever in a sport littered with them.
Saban is also 15-0 against the Tennessee Volunteers. He’s had a few close calls, though. In 2009, Tennessee, led by first-year head coach Lane Kiffin, went to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 1 Alabama. Terrace Cody and the Crimson Tide would block 4 field goals and would hold on to win 12-10. They won the national championship that year. I don’t remember 2006, but I do remember watching that game in 2009.
Since 2009, only one other matchup between the Vols and Tide has been a one-possession game. In 2015, Alabama beat Tennessee 19-14. Every other matchup has been a blowout in the Crimson Tide’s favor.
This rivalry is much deeper than just the last 15 years, though. Saturday’s game will be the 105th time the teams have met on the gridiron. Alabama holds the lead in the all-time series with a record of 57-38-8; prior to the last 15 straight from the Tide, the series was much tighter than some would have thought. The teams have played in three cities; Knoxville, Tuscaloosa, and Birmingham. Alabama played its home games in Birmingham from 1932 until 1997. Despite being a key rivalry in cross-divisional play, the teams have never met in Atlanta for an SEC Championship Game.
The game is coined “The Third Saturday in October” because the game is played, you guessed it, on the third Saturday in October.
The Cigar Game
For the first time in a long time, Tennessee fans will have their cigars ready on Saturday. If you are unfamiliar with the rivalry, you might find that confusing.
Here’s another history lesson for you, back in 1950, Alabama athletic trainer Jim Goostree started handing out cigars after a win over Tennessee. Both teams kept the tradition going behind the scenes; the NCAA wasn’t a fan of the teams promoting tobacco use. Alabama would make their cigar use after the victory in the 2005 game public.
Now whichever team wins, the Vols have only won once in the time frame, report the tobacco use, and happily pay the fine to keep the tradition alive. It is one of the coolest aspects of the rivalry, as the team and fans light up a cigar in victory. Tennessee fans and players hope this is the year they get to damage their lungs.
Why is 2022 diffrent?
We’ve looked at the history, but what makes 2022 different? Why won’t Nick Saban and Alabama roll into Knoxville and slay the Vols for a 16th straight time?
Josh Heupel and Hendon Hooker have changed the Tennessee program. The Vols are ranked in the top 10 for the first time since the late 2000s. Heupel’s offense is led by the Heisman-hopeful Hooker. That offense has led them to big wins at Pittsburgh and LSU and at home against Florida. All of those teams were ranked in the AP Top 25 when they played the Vols. In just a year and a half as head coach of the Vols, Heupel has more top 25 wins than the previous four head coaches combined. The culture has changed on Rocky Top.
Alabama is still Alabama, though. Rather than having a Heisman-hopeful quarterback, they have last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young, behind center. Nick Saban is one of if not the greatest college coaches ever. Both teams are undefeated and ready for this massive matchup. The Tide have won tough road contests against Texas and Arkansas and survived a scare last weekend against Texas A&M. They were able to defeat the Aggies from A&M without Bryce Young. Backup Jalen Milroe got the job done. Young suffered an AC Sprain during the second half of the Arkansas game. It is still unclear if Young will play this weekend against Tennessee.
Like Alabama, Tennessee might also be missing a star player. All-SEC wide receiver Cedric Tillman has been out of action since the Akron game with an ankle injury. Tennessee has been able to beat Florida and LSU without Tillman, but Alabama is a step up in competition. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said Tillman will not play unless he is 100 percent on Saturday.
My Perspective
I was raised a Vols fan. From the first time my dad took me to Neyland Stadium, like many other kids with the same experience, I was hooked. I became a fan during the absolute worst decade of Tennessee football history. I’ve been a fan through the Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, and Jeremy Pruitt eras. It’s been tough, to say the least.
I have grown a custom to heartbreaking losses and blowouts. I didn’t get to enjoy a Tennessee victory over Florida until I was in college. I have never had the chance to really enjoy a victory over Alabama, but I have always understood the rivalry.
As a Tennessee fan, you learn quickly you don’t like any of the other SEC teams, but three schools rise to the top of the list; Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. I remember growing up, at my dad’s house he treated Alabama like they were Voldemort. They were the school that shall not be named or the red school down south. We weren’t allowed to say “Alabama” in my father’s house, and if you said “roll tide” your mouth would taste like soap for the rest of your life. That’s just how it is, it’s a rivalry that runs deep with hatred. Despite Alabama dominating the rivalry for more than half my life, I still feel the same way as my father, and there are Alabama fans that feel the same way about Tennessee. Just take a look at this video:
This disdain and dislike are what make rivalry games mean so much more. It’s what makes this Saturday’s game so much bigger. I don’t know if Tennessee will win, I don’t know if Tennessee will even keep it competitive, but I do know one thing; The Third Saturday in October is so back.
