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Tennessee vs. Alabama Last-Minute Predictions for Vols and Tide

By Caleb Calhoun

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With the Volunteers football team taking on the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa Saturday, here are last-minute predictions for the Tennessee vs. Alabama game.

The Third Saturday in October has arrived…on the fourth Saturday of the month this year.

Tennessee Vols fans have a different feel about this Tennessee vs. Alabama game than they did the last two years under Butch Jones.

Heck, they might have a different feel for than they would have three weeks ago right after they lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Vols proved two weeks ago what they can do and are looking to keep the momentum going with this game. Meanwhile, Alabama wants to snatch the heart out of Vols fans once again.

And they also want to stay in the SEC Championship and College Football Playoff race.

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For both teams, the rivalry remains special, even if Alabama has dominated the last eight years.

This is Tennessee’s best chance since 2009 to actually give the Tide a fight, though. Knowing that this would be a huge upset if the Vols won, here are the last-minute predictions for this game.

1. Joshua Dobbs Will Total 400 Yards

This is the first truly dual-threat quarterback Alabama and Nick Saban have faced all year. And just two weeks ago, Joshua Dobbs had 500 yards against a very good Georgia defense, most of which came after the Vols turned him loose midway through the second half.

Hopefully, Butch Jones learned his lesson. If he did, Dobbs should do what dual-threat quarterbacks on good teams always do to Nick Saban’s 3-4 defense: torch it. That is especially true with Tennessee having two weeks off.

2. Derrick Henry Will Have at Least 150 Yards

The bad news for Tennessee is that they have a terrible rushing defense. Even after Nick Chubb went out with an injury two weeks ago, the Vols still managed to allow more than 100 yards on the ground to Sony Michel.

Imagine what Derrick Henry is going to do. Lane Kiffin knows this, and he will go to Henry the whole time, hoping to torch that Tennessee defensive front behind that massive Alabama offensive line. And it will largely work.

3. Jake Coker Will Have at Least Two Turnovers

Although the Tennessee Vols have a terrible rush defense, they actually have an amazing pass rush behind Derek Barnett and Corey Vereen along with Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Coker, meanwhile, looks as pathetic while being rushed as Greyson Lambert at Georgia.

And Tennessee will exploit that. As a result, while Derrick Henry will have a huge game, but Coker will have trouble dealing with the pass rush. And that will be enough for Tennessee’s secondary to come away with a couple of turnovers.

4. Richard Mullaney Will Lead Everybody in Receiving

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Jake Coker will sell out to go to Richard Mullaney in this game when they do throw the ball, and they should. Tennessee’s biggest issue in the secondary all year has been nickel coverage.

And that leads to big plays from slot receivers. Butch Jones and John Jancek probably will want to work Justin Martin in more, but Malik Foreman has struggled significantly here. So expect Mullaney to push 100 yards through the air.

5. Tennessee Will Dominate on Special Teams

Last week, Alabama gave up a kick return for a touchdown, and they have been awful in special teams all year. Meanwhile, the Vols have been elite with Alvin Kamara and Evan Berry. The combination of the two will make for at least one return touchdown in this game.

At the same time, add in punter Trevor Daniel, and the Vols should actually dominate field position. Whether or not it is enough to win is up for debate. But they cannot win unless they do these things on special teams.

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Next: Five Reasons the Vols Will Upset Alabama

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