College Football Game of the Week: No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 6 Tennessee

Story posted October 14, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Julianna Steinmetz

The third Saturday in October is one of the Southeastern Conference’s biggest rivalries. This year, the Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Alabama currently leads the series 58-37-7 and is on a 15-game winning streak. Under head coach Nick Saban, the Tide have outscored the Volunteers 589-201.

However, this Tennessee team could be the team to finally end their losing streak and come out with a victory over Saban and his team.

The Volunteers are currently 5-0 and are going into the game sitting at 6 in the AP rankings (the highest they’ve been ranked since 2005) with notable wins over Pittsburgh, Florida and most recently, a 40-13 road win at LSU.
Tennessee’s offense has proven themselves to be great throughout the entire season. However, their defense has been shaky. After a bye week, the defense proved themselves against LSU, but they must continue to improve if they want to pull off a win this week against Alabama. 

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has had an incredible season so far totaling in at 1432 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. Hooker has found himself on many people’s lists as a Heisman candidate. His performance this week could prove that he is truly worthy of being a contender.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide is also undefeated at 6-0 and ranked No. 3 with notable wins over Texas and Arkansas.

Alabama star quarterback Bryce Young suffered an injury during their game against Arkansas earlier this month.

Young was unable to play this past weekend against Texas A&M which almost resulted in an upset.

The Tide found themselves in turnover trouble with backup quarterback Jalen Milroe in. Despite mistakes committed, the team escaped the Aggies coming out with a 24-20 road win.

Young’s health could have a huge impact on the outcome of Saturday’s game; however, Saban is hopeful that his reigning Heisman winner will be ready to go to face Tennessee. 

At his press conference this week, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said, “Alabama is really good. Offense, defense, special teams, they’ve got really good personnel and in all three phases of the game. It will obviously be a huge test for us, but our players are excited and this morning was good preparation, we’d have a great week of practice and get ready to play our best football.”

According to ESPN’s FPI, the Tide has a 69.8% chance to win, and they open as a 7.5-point favorite against the Volunteers.

It will be tough competition for both teams and no matter the outcome of this game, one of these teams will be saying goodbye to their winning streak.

Tennessee still has to face No.1 Georgia later this season, but as of now, there is still a likelihood that Tennessee will meet Alabama again for the SEC championship.

 

Julianna Steinmetz is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email jfs6759@psu.edu.

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