Hello and Roll Tide!

On the Third Saturday in October, Alabama will battle the Tennessee Volunteers for the 108th time. Tennessee has made the rivalry competitive recently, winning 2 of the last 3. Kalen DeBoer will look to win his first game in this storied rivalry. Each team enters at 5-1, giving this game significant playoff implications. Each sideline is itching to be the ones lighting up their cigars when the time hits 0:00. Below are injury notes, a Tennessee preview, and week 8 storylines. Let’s go!

Injury Notes:

  • Qua Russaw, Jah-Marien Latham, Cayden Jones, and Derek Meadows are OUT
  • Danny Lewis Jr. is QUESTIONABLE
  • Jam Miller and Jaylen Mbakwe are listed as PROBABLE

Week 8 Preview: Tennessee Volunteers

Alabama and Tennessee have met 107 times; Alabama leads the series 60-39-8. Alabama held a 15-game winning streak from 2007-2021 until Tennessee broke it in 2022. The home team has won the last 4 matchups and Tennessee hasn’t won in Tuscaloosa since 2003. Josh Heupel has reinvigorated this rivalry as he’s brough Tennessee back to national prominence. Tennessee is 5-1 (2-1) this season with their only loss coming at home to Georgia in overtime. The Vols were a topic of controversy over the offseason with the transfer of Nico Iamaleava to UCLA. The two schools wound up trading quarterbacks as Joey Aguilar transferred into Tennessee from UCLA. This trade seems to have worked out for the Vols. Joey Aguilar leads the SEC with 1,680 passing yards and Tennessee is 7th in the nation averaging 317.8 passing yards per game. His favorite target this season has been Chris Brazzel, a former 4-star transfer out of Tulane, who has emerged as a star in this league. Brazzel is 2nd in the SEC with 536 receiving yards and 1st with 7 receiving touchdowns. The Vols have two other productive receivers in Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews who each have over 400 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns receptions. Alongside their strong passing attack is a complimentary rushing offense. Tennessee’s leading rusher is sophomore DeSean Bishop, who is notable listed as PROBABLE on the SEC availability report. Bishop is averaging 7.6 yards per carry with 5 touchdowns. Behind him, Star Thomas has rushed for 328 yards averaging 5.3 yards per carry and Peyton Lewis has 200 yards averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Tennessee’s rushing attack is 22nd in the nation averaging 210 rushing yards per game. Tennessee’s strong passing and rushing attack combines for 4th nationally averaging 527.8 yards of total offense per game.

Compared to their high-flying offense, Tennessee’s defense has been streaky. They currently rank 108th in the country allowing 29.3 points per game and 101st allowing 393.8 yards per game. Tennessee’s pass defense is difficult to understand. They are dead last in the SEC allowing 257.8 passing yards per game, but lead the league in sacks with 26. Tennessee has 4 defensive linemen with 3 or more sacks. The pass rush is elite, but they’ve struggled in rushing defense recently. Arkansas rushed for 240 yards a week ago and Miss State gained 203 yards on the ground against Tennessee before that. The secondary is allowing the most passing yards per game in the SEC and will be without starting DB Jermod McCoy. Outside of creating pressure on opposing quarterbacks, Tennessee’s defense has many vulnerabilities.

Week 8 Storylines:

Don’t eat the rat poison, Ty: Ty Simpson has risen to national recognition in Heisman odds and NFL mock drafts. Many platforms have deemed him the best quarterback in college football as the rat poison continues to flow in. Ty needs to ignore the outside noise and continue to play his game. He has been very impressive through 6 games and simply needs to play his game for Alabama to have success.

Establish the run-game: Jam Miller exited the contest against Missouri with a head injury and is listed as PROBABLE to start this week. With or without Jam, it will be important to establish the run against Tennessee’s hostile pass rush. Tennessee has been susceptible to the run in recent weeks which Alabama will look to take advantage of. Establishing the run will help Alabama in play action and allow them to take more shots downfield. If Alabama can keep Tennessee’s defense guessing, it will neutralize their very talented pass rush.

Bend-don’t-break: Alabama’s defense has taken the bend-don’t-break approach this season as they’ve played well enough to support their lethal offense. Bama has allowed several explosive plays on the ground that they need to clean up. Gap discipline needs to improve, but Kane does usually have the unit playing much better after halftime. Tennessee has an explosive offense so it will be very important to limit big plays. This game will likely be a shootout and require one team’s defense to step up and make big plays.

What’s your score prediction? Who will have a breakout game? As always, send any questions or comments that you have. If you know of anyone who wants to join the newsletter, send me their info.

Roll Tide! -Jake