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Tennessee football vs. Alabama: 5 Vols to watch for against Crimson Tide

By Caleb Calhoun

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Dominick Wood-Anderson #4 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts after scoring a touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Dominick Wood-Anderson #4 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts after scoring a touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images /

Tennessee football hosts the Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday at Neyland Stadium, as Jeremy Pruitt faces Nick Saban. Here are five key Volunteers.

Should we do it? Can we overreact to the Tennessee football upset over the Auburn Tigers by talking about what they could do against the Alabama Crimson Tide? Well, we have to analyze the game in our previews for the week anyway.

The Vols haven’t beaten this team in 12 years. This may be the best team of all time. Nick Saban has never lost to a former assistant. Literally everything possible is working against Rocky Top on Saturday, and let’s not forget the fact that before beating the Auburn Tigers, this program had lost 11 straight SEC games, 11 straight games to Power Five teams, and every game to either type of team this year by 26 points.

So yeah, it’s insane to talk about a potential Tennessee football win Saturday. But the fact of the matter is the Vols are under contract. They have to play the game, and Jeremy Pruitt has to prepare for his team and the coach that catapulted his career.

As a result, UT might as well try to win. If that’s going to happen, the Vols have to use what, if any match-up advantages they might have. And crucial to that is building off the players who have stepped up the previous few games.

Pruitt needs key stars to be able to step up and create big plays for Rocky Top. As we look at the most important Vols to keep an eye on in this game, we’re going to combine the match-ups where Alabama is weak due to their play and injuries and the talent of the players coming from Knoxville.

Using that method, there are some guys who could make a difference and give the men in orange a chance to make this a game. Let’s take a look at who they are. These are the five Tennessee football players to watch at home against the Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday.

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