For the fourth consecutive week, Alabama will battle a ranked conference opponent. After beating Georgia, Vanderbilt, and Missouri over the last three weeks, the Crimson Tide will now host Tennessee on Saturday in the 108th iteration of the Third Saturday in October.
Alabama comes in at 5-1, winners of five straight, and looking for part two of their 2025 revenge tour. Alabama avenged one of its losses from a year ago already by knocking off Vanderbilt two weeks ago, 30-14. They'll hope for a similar result in Bryant-Denny this weekend.
A year ago, Alabama fell in Knoxville to Tennessee, 24-17. It was a game littered with missed opportunities for Kalen DeBoer's team. Missed opportunities on the offensive end have been a consistent theme for the Tide the last couple of weeks, and that's something that can't happen again against an offense of Tennessee's caliber.
Alabama will need to be clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the football to win this game. They'll also need some X-Factors to step up.
3 potential X-Factors for Alabama against Tennessee
CB Dijon Lee
For the first time this season, freshman Dijon Lee played more snaps than senior Domani Jackson in Alabama's win over Missouri. It would not be a surprise to see Lee earn the start against Tennessee this weekend. The freshman has been more than steady, and Jackson has put some things on tape that have been pretty ugly in recent weeks.
Lee had his best game in an Alabama uniform last week in CoMo. He came up with the game-sealing interception on Missouri's final drive, and nearly had another one earlier in the game, where he showcased his length and ridiculous catch radius.
Lee could be Kane Wommack's answer for Tennessee's 6-foot-5 WR Chris Brazzell. Lee stands at 6-foot-4 and has the size to match up with him.
Josh Heupel loves to take deep shots and stretch the field vertically, so it will take a group effort from the entire secondary this weekend to keep this game from turning into an all-out shootout.
RT Wilkin Formby or Michael Carroll
Tennessee's secondary has been susceptible this season. The Vols give up 277 yards per game through the air, a mark that ranks 119th out of 136 FBS teams. Ty Simpson should be able to pick them apart, but he's got to have time to do so.
Alabama's offensive line struggled against Missouri's pass rush last week, and that's the strength of the Tennessee defense. The Vols rank No. 1 in the country in sacks per game, bringing down opposing quarterbacks on average 4.2 times per game. They sacked Arkansas dual-threat QB Taylen Green five times a week ago. They sacked Georgia's Gunner Stockton four times earlier in the season.
Simpson has been sacked eight times in the last two weeks. It's been a combination of Simpson trying to do a little too much and the offensive line - particularly at right tackle - struggling in pass protection.
Alabama has been rotating between starter Wilkin Formby and true freshman backup Michael Carroll this season. It sure sounds like that rotation could be coming to an end, however, with Carroll looking likely to take over the full-time gig sooner rather than later.
Whoever starts at RT will be tested by the Tennessee pass rush, and their ability to hold up could be the difference in the game.
WR Lotzeir Brooks
It remains to be seen what Ryan Williams' status is for this weekend. The star sophomore WR played last week against Missouri, but he was clearly hobbled and was used more as a decoy. He didn't record a catch.
Regardless of whether Williams plays - but especially if he doesn't - freshman WR Lotzeir Brooks will be a key piece to the Alabama passing attack.
Brooks was Alabama's leading receiver last week, producing 58 yards on four receptions, none more important than his 4th down snag in the fourth quarter on a perfectly placed throw by Simpson. The fact that Simpson was willing to turn that loose to the true freshman just shows how much confidence he already has in him.
After not recording a stat against Florida State, Brooks has put up 216 receiving yards over the last five games. He's also the Tide's kick returner and seems to be on the precipice of a big play in the return game.
Whether it's offensively or on special teams, Brooks seems likely to make a big play that helps Alabama knock off Tennessee this weekend.