KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Who wins the latest game in the historic rivalry known as the Third Saturday of October may matter more than ever for Alabama and Tennessee.
On Saturday, the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 11 Tennessee are playing for separation with the winner facing an easier path to a College Football Playoff berth in the first year of the 12-team bracket while also getting a game up in the Southeastern Conference race. Both teams are part of a four-way tie in the expanded SEC with one loss apiece.
“It’s a rivalry game,” said Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. “College football as good as it gets.”
Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) dropped three spots in the AP Top 25 after an overtime win against Florida. For Alabama, Tennessee is asking fans to wear all orange, and the Vols have won 16 of their last 17 at Neyland. The loss was to then-No. 1 Georgia.
“This game is obviously a big deal to the fans and … to us,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said of what will be his first game at the 101,915-seat stadium.
Making this even more crucial is how the Crimson Tide (5-1, 2-1) and the Vols have mirrored each other the past two weeks.
Alabama suffered an historic loss at Vanderbilt, which had never beaten an AP Top 25 team in 60 previous tries. The Tide then struggled to beat South Carolina 27-25 while playing at home. Tennessee's four-game winning streak ended 19-14 at Arkansas before the Vols held off the Gators.
While both defenses have been dominant at times, the quarterbacks will be key with Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava struggling recently. Milroe was intercepted three times in the last two games and had problems with the Gamecocks’ pass rush. Iamaleava turned it over twice and was sacked three times by Florida.
“It starts with (Milroe), him being part of the run game and playmakers on the outside,” Heupel said of Milroe.
Tennessee has allowed only three plays of 30 yards or longer all season and is tied for the fewest nationally with Army, Nebraska and top-ranked Texas. The Vols understand too well that Milroe is a dual threat.
Iamaleava is averaging 203.2 yards passing per game with seven touchdown passes and three interceptions.
Alabama’s defense has struggled to stop opponents on third down lately. That was never more evident than South Carolina’s opening touchdown drive of the second half, where the Gamecocks went 5-of-5 and took 8 minutes, 35 seconds off the clock. A week earlier, Vanderbilt converted 12 of 18 third-down attempts.
“You look at yards per play, and we’re making some teams earn it but we’ve just got to get off the field,” DeBoer said. “When those drives continue to stack on top of each other and there’s more plays that your defense is having to play, it starts to wear you down a little bit more.
Tennessee’s offense had problems converting third downs the past two games. The Vols were 4 of 15 against Florida and 7 of 16 in the Arkansas loss despite having Dylan Sampson, who leads the SEC and ranks second nationally with 15 rushing touchdowns. Sampson is averaging 116.5 yards per game and 5.92 yards per carry.
Alabama has found it tougher to get the ball to dynamic freshman receiver Ryan Williams. He has been targeted 13 times in the past two games, totaling seven catches for 114 yards.
“He’s gotta be a guy that we’re always really paying attention to as far as the number of targets,” DeBoer said.
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AP Sports Writer John Zenor contributed to this story.
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