The black hoodie is still working. After an embarrassing start to the season, the Alabama Crimson Tide has had the turnaround of a lifetime, and head coach Kalen DeBoer has seemingly found his footing at one of the most dominant college football programs ever.
This week, as the No. 6 Crimson Tide takes on the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers, DeBoer is well aware just how much the matchup means to his program.
"Understand the rivalry and it's a lot of fun for our fans and goes back, obviously, generations," DeBoer said in a press conference. "We understand how big of deal this game is to them. We understand how big of a deal this game is to us right now in the season that we're in, and that's really what we're focused on."
Also read: Why the Tennessee Game matters so much to the Alabama Crimson Tide program
Already this season, Alabama took down the then-No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, the then-No. 16 Vanderbilt Commodores, and the then-No. 14 Missouri Tigers. However, this rivalry matchup just means more, and it didn't work out in DeBoer's favor last year.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer on Tennessee: “We understand how big of a game this is.”
— Colin Gay (@_ColinGay) October 13, 2025
Last season, DeBoer and the Tide fell to the Vols in a 24-17 loss, just one of three losses that Alabama suffered during the first year of his tenure in Tuscaloosa.
Luckily for DeBoer and the Tide, the rivalry game is a home matchup this season, and it never hurts when they're playing at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"Just looking forward to a great game. Need our fans loud... extremely loud," DeBoer said. "We need an environment that's the best in the country here this weekend. Again, we're playing for a lot each week, and we appreciate the support we get. Our players feel the energy and feed off of it."
Throughout the two teams' 107-game history, Alabama has walked away with 60 wins, suffering just 38 losses, and finishing with eight ties. The first-ever matchup (which was played in 1901) ended in a 6-6 tie.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, Alabama and Tennessee are scheduled to kick off the top-15 matchup at 6:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on ABC.