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Tennessee football vs. Alabama: 10 keys for Vols and Crimson Tide

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers and head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shake hands after the second half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers and head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shake hands after the second half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Oct 10, 2020; Oxford, MX, USA; Alabama head coach Nick Saban before the game against Mississippi at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kent Gidley via USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2020; Oxford, MX, USA; Alabama head coach Nick Saban before the game against Mississippi at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kent Gidley via USA TODAY Sports /

9. Which team moves past last week?

It goes without saying that Tennessee football’s best chance of making this any sort of game against the Alabama Crimson Tide is for Bama to lose focus. After all, they are coming off a dominating 41-24 win over a Georgia Bulldogs team that looked elite defensively, and they did it with one of the most flawless second halves we have seen in a long time.

Sure, this is technically a rivalry game, but it’s going to be hard for any of the players on Alabama to see it as such. They have never lost to UT, and some of them hadn’t even started kindergarten the last time Rocky Top won a game in this series. How are they supposed to get up for this after winning what everybody believed to be their toughest game of the year in convincing fashion?

We already saw what the Ole Miss Rebels did to Alabama’s defense when the Tide were thinking about Georgia. Is there a chance they are now too relaxed after such elation? If so, it would be made even worse by the fact that the Vols are on a two-game losing streak and just lost to the Kentucky Wildcats. How can Bama get up for this one?

Well, even being too relaxed will be enough for them to win this game. While this all falls on Alabama, UT has to focus itself. The Vols are probably feeling pretty down after such a bad loss. Can they put the distractions behind them as they get set to face one of the most talented teams in the nation? That will be the test here.

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