Tennessee football: Nothing is unfair about Vols series with Bama

Talk of ending Tennessee football’s rivalry with the Alabama Crimson Tide has come up recently. But there’s no reason for the Volunteers to want it to end.

Recently, you may have heard some talk about Tennessee football’s series with Alabama. John Adams of the Knoxville News Sentinel posted an article last week suggesting that the Vols would be better off not having Alabama as a rivalry.

Here’s a part of the argument Adams made in the article.

"Playing Alabama obviously puts UT at a huge disadvantage in its division. Its scheduling disadvantage will be magnified this season and next."

This came after Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs suggested the Tigers swap places with Missouri in the SEC East and West. Jacobs and then Adams’s article became the subject of ridicule on fellow Alabama FanSided site Bama Hammer, which had a post about the article.

However, this week, Tennessee Vols athletic director John Currie has said the Vols have no desire to end the Alabama series. And Butch Jones echoed that sentiment.

So Bama Hammer had another post this week noting that the Vols clearly understand the importance of the rivalry.

They’re right, as are Butch Jones and John Currie.

More from Vols Football

Adams is an excellent columnist, but he’s way off with this point. Yes, at this juncture, it is extremely unfair for Tennessee football to have to face Alabama every year.

But if you care about the beauty of college football and the things that keep fan interest, you can’t in that rivalry.

It’s not worth ending such a historical series just to make things fair.

And the fairness changes anyway. It goes in cycles.

Remember the last time Tennessee football won the SEC East in 2007? Was the scheduling unfair then? Florida had to play the eventual national champion LSU Tigers that year and the Auburn Tigers, who finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the division.

Meanwhile, Alabama was rebuilding that year under Nick Saban, and the Vols got to face them, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and the Arkansas Razorbacks, who were three of the bottom four teams that year.

What about 2003? The Tide finished next last in the division that year while the Vols captured a share of the SEC East beating Alabama and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who did finish last.

Meanwhile, Georgia and Florida had to face LSU, once again eventual national champions, both on the road. And Florida also had to face the Ole Miss Rebels, who finished second in the division.

Tennessee and Alabama have been up and down at different times. Before this 10-year winning streak by the Tide, remember the Vols beating Alabama 10 out of 12 years from 1995 to 2006? Do you think Alabama liked having to play Tennessee at its peak when they were trying to win the SEC West?

As you can see, this all goes in cycles. To be fair, Adams did address the fact that it goes in cycles.

Here’s what he said about that.

"But here’s Tennessee’s problem: When Alabama is up, it’s really up. It doesn’t just have a good stretch. It goes full dynasty.Bear Bryant managed one dynasty. Nick Saban is overseeing another one.The way Alabama is rolling under Saban, there’s no relief in sight for anyone in its way."

Must Read: Tennessee football: Ranking every Vols starting quarterback this century

That point is certainly true, but it speaks more to the Tide hitting a home run with two amazing coaches than anything else. If Tennessee football had fired Fulmer in 2006 and hired Saban, they’d do exactly what Alabama has done the past 10 years.

And Bear Bryant won big at Kentucky, so we know how great he was. Alabama happened to hit the lottery with two legendary coaches, and right now, everybody else is suffering.

Meanwhile, Adams can say there’s no relief in sight, but Saban already 65. How long does he plan on coaching? And who’s to say that with some staff shake-ups, particularly Lane Kiffin’s departure, he’ll be as invincible as he has been.

But among all this, here’s the real kicker: The series doesn’t mean much when it comes to the East. Ever since Nick Saban has arrived at Alabama, not one year did that game make a difference on whether or not the Vols won the East.

Even this year, despite beating Florida and Georgia, they finished two games behind the Florida because they lost to Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Not playing Alabama would not have changed anything.

And they won the East the first year of the streak.

Want to know what the difference was the eight years in between? Try going 0-8 against Florida, 2-6 against Georgia, and just 4-4 against South Carolina. Oh, they also went 1-2 against Missouri, who won the East twice.

So no, there’s no reason to end the Tennessee-Alabama series because of a hypothetical unfair difference in interdivisional games when it has yet to negatively affect the Vols.

Next: Top 10 Tennessee Vols coaches this century

And with the chance of the Tide shifting in the future anyway, all you do by canceling the rivalry is throw away a great part of college football lore for potential short-term gain…short-term gain that there’s no evidence of happening anyway.

Home/Vols Football

Tennessee football: Nothing is unfair about Vols series with Alabama Crimson Tide

By Caleb Calhoun | Jun 14, 2017

Talk of ending Tennessee football’s rivalry with the Alabama Crimson Tide has come up recently. But there’s no reason for the Volunteers to want it to end.