Game Week: Alabama

After a perfectly timed bye week after a huge win over then 19th-ranked Georgia, Tennessee will get back on the gridiron this Saturday when they travel to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide for the 97th time.

Alabama has only suffered one slip up this season: An early season home loss to Ole Miss. The dynasty that Nick Saban built in Tuscaloosa looked to be potentially falling apart at that point, but since that loss, the Tide have gone 4-0, including two road wins over top ten teams.

Tennessee will definitely have their hands full on Saturday, but this game certainly doesn’t look as daunting as it would have if the Vols would have lost Georgia.

Here’s a look at The Third Saturday in October, 2015 edition:

Tennessee Volunteers at Alabama Crimson Tide

Game Information

Kickoff: Saturday at 3:30 PM EST

TV: CBS

Line: Alabama by 14

Venue: Bryant-Denny Stadium (Capacity 101,821)

No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1, 3-1 SEC)

Head Coach: Nick Saban (9th season)

Offensive Coordinator: Lane Kiffin

Defensive Coordinator: Kirby Smart

​2015 Season Notes

- Picked by media to finish 1st in SEC West in preseason.

- Ranked 3rd in Preseason Coaches Poll.

- Ranked 3rd in Preseason AP Poll.

- Offseason quarterback competition between Jake Coker (Sr.), Alec Morris (Jr.), Cooper Bateman (So.), David Cornwell (Fr.), and Blake Barnett (Fr.). The competition was eventually won by Coker, though Bateman started the Ole Miss game and played against Wisconsin and Middle Tennessee State.

- Lost 72 percent of receiving yards from 2014, freshman Calvin Ridley has stepped into the role of number one receiver.

Alabama players to watch:

Jake Coker, quarterback

When Jake Coker came to Alabama prior to the 2014 season, he was expected to walk in and be handed to the starting quarterback job.

That didn’t end up being the case, as now-graduated Blake Sims won the job and started all the way until Alabama’s season ending loss to Ohio State.

This season however, Coker did win the offseason competition, and has started all but one of Alabama’s games this season.

Coker has had a good season statistically, completing 122 of 197 passes for 1,376 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with six interceptions. But even with those stats, Coker is a step down from recent Alabama quarterbacks like John Parker-Wilson, AJ McCarron, and even Blake Sims.

But the reason Alabama’s offense has been successful so far this season is that Coker doesn’t have to be spectacular. With a running back like Derrick Henry, Coker can get away with an off day.

Tennessee’s best chance at stopping a talented Alabama offense will be to stop the run early and force Coker to make the throws to beat the Vols.

Derrick Henry, running back

Derrick Henry has been very good all season, but in Alabama’s game against Texas A&M last Saturday, Henry took it to another level.

Henry carried the Alabama offense that wasn’t having much success through the air early in the game with 236 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Over the course of the seven games Alabama has played this season, Henry has 901 yards and 12 touchdowns.

In Tennessee’s game big win over Georgia, the Vols didn’t end up having to face star running back Nick Chubb, as he went down to injury on the first play from scrimmage.

It’s unlikely that will happen again with Henry, so the Vols will be faced with their biggest test from a running back all season.

As mentioned above, Tennessee’s best chance against Alabama’s offense will be to shut down Henry early.

Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has been known to abandon the run at times, and if Henry has a hard time getting going, Kiffin may turn to Coker, who is much more manageable to defend for the Vols.

#alabama #gameweek