Alabama Football: 2019 season week eight preview Tennessee Vols

Arguably the greatest rivalry in Alabama football history has not brought much stress to Crimson Tide fans in recent seasons. Let’s consider the ’19 Tennessee Vols.

In the coming 2019 season, the Alabama football game versus Tennessee is where it should always be – on the third Saturday of October. Some of us seasoned fans remember when this was a bigger game than the Iron Bowl.

It has been awhile since that claim resonated with a majority of Crimson Tide fans. And no wonder. When some version of ‘puke orange’ next pours onto the field of Bryant-Denny Stadium, it will have been 4,745 days since the Vols beat the Tide in football.

That must be some kind of record, doesn’t it? Yes, but only by one victory. Alabama football beat the Vols eleven straight between 1971 and 1981. More recently, Tennessee won 10 of 12 games between 1995 and 2006.

Former Alabama football player and assistant coach, Jeremy Pruitt, has the tough task of reversing Vol fortunes against the Crimson Tide. Many Alabama football fans will forgive him wearing orange until he beats the Tide; if he ever does.

Having to beat the Crimson Tide is not the toughest part of Pruitt’s job. Worse is having to work for Phil Fulmer. No Tide fan born after about 1994 can comprehend how Fulmer defines vileness. The rest of us will never forget.

What about the 2019 Vols? After going 4-8 and 5-7 in 2017 and 2018, the Vols could make a bowl game in 2019. Most prognosticators have the Vols winning six or maybe seven games. The most optimistic guess is eight.

The biggest problems for the Vols are among the big bodies. The offensive line could be better than last season and still not be very good. The defensive line is also lacking.

The strength of the Vols team is at wide receiver. At wideout, there is plenty of talent and toughness. At quarterback, Jarrett Guarantano has some strengths. No one questions his toughness and he has needed it in his Tennessee career, considering the o-lines in front of him. If given time, he has a strong arm, though consistent accuracy has been an issue. He does not get much help from his running backs.

The Vols will be okay in the secondary and pretty good at linebacker. Overall, they should better defensively than last season.

Pruitt added Jim Chaney as Offensive Coordinator in the offseason. Chaney will bring in a pro-style offense to Knoxville along with a long and well-traveled career. Part of that career was at Tennessee with Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley as head coaches.

In one slight counterpoint to a “Vols are not good for anything” argument, Tennessee visited Auburn last season. And beat the Tigers in Jordan-Hare.