The Tennessee Volunteers travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in a SEC showdown on Saturday. The Crimson Tide have bounced back and won four straight since losing to Ole Miss and will look to add another conference win against the Volunteers. Tennessee may not look like a difficult matchup at 3-3, but all of their losses have come against major conference schools.
The Volunteers will look to keep momentum going after beating the Georgia Bulldogs last week 38-31. Junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs is coming off his biggest game of the season, throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns two weeks ago. The junior quarterback has thrown for 1,110 yards and eight touchdowns this season but can also take off on the ground. Dobbs has rushed for 368 yards this season, and has scored five rushing touchdowns.
Volunteers head coach Butch Jones will look to establish the ground game with sophomore running back Jalen Hurd. Hurd is having a big season and can punish defenses at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds. He has rushed for 572 yards and has scored seven touchdowns but faces the toughest defense he will likely see this season.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban is known for consistently having one of the best defenses in college football, and this year is no different. The Crimson Tide are holding teams under an average 17 points per game, and that's including their one loss to Ole Miss. Alabama lost to the Rebels early last season as well and were able to bounce back and win out the rest of their regular season and the SEC Championship.
While Alabama's strength is its defense, offensive coordinator and former Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin will look to have the offense rolling Saturday afternoon. Senior quarterback Jake Coker leads the Crimson Tide offense and will need to manage the game against the Volunteers. Coker has had a strong season but has struggled with turnovers. The senior quarterback from Mobile, Ala., has thrown 11 touchdowns to six interceptions this season. Coker can make big plays with his arm, but Saban will need him to make smart decisions with the ball.
Alabama will probably look to get to its offense rolling by handing the ball off to Heisman hopeful Derrick Henry. The junior running back is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and has 901 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. Henry is a powerful back that can run over linebackers at 6-foot-3, 242 pounds. Henry is coming off his biggest game of the season last week, rushing for 236 yards against Texas A&M.
This game is crucial for both teams, as Alabama is trying to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive, and the Volunteers are in need of a defining win this season. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to Alabama's radio broadcast, click here, and for the Volunteers' radio broadcast, go here.
