Saturday may be Kalen DeBoer’s first experience with the Alabama football-Tennessee rivalry.
But in the days leading up to kickoff between the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers, he’s doing everything can to prepare “so that people can celebrate and enjoy the rivalry on our end.
“A lot of respect for Tennessee, their coaches, their players,” DeBoer said. “But we’re just pouring into the things we can control, what we can focus and want to bring that joy to not just the hard work we put in personally and within this team but also so our fan base can enjoy it, as well.”
Alabama kicks off against Tennessee at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday from Neyland Stadium on ABC.
Here’s our scouting report of the Volunteers and how they stack up with the Crimson Tide along with an Alabama-Tennessee score prediction.
Alabama has dominated its recent history against Tennessee. The Crimson Tide have won 16 of its past 17 meetings with the Volunteers, including a 34-20 win in Tuscaloosa in 2023. From 1995-2006, Tennessee won 10 of 12 against Alabama, including the Volunteers’ most recent win at Bryant-Denny Stadium: a 35-24 win Oct. 21, 2001.
Alabama leads the overall series against Tennessee 59-39-7.
Third down conversion percentage
Passing offense
Red zone offense
Rushing offense
Sacks allowed
Scoring offense
Total offense
Third down defense
Passing yards allowed
Red zone defense
Rushing defense
Sacks
Scoring defense
Total defense
Note: Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Wednesday, Oct. 16
No. 10 Tennessee 35, No. 7 Alabama 28: The combination of a raucous Neyland Stadium atmosphere, Dylan Sampson and the Tennessee run game, and the Volunteers’ defense that has become one of the best in the SEC will be too much for the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon. While Vanderbilt left Alabama shocked, Tennessee will bring Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide a first true “Welcome to the SEC” moment.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him atcgay@gannett.com or follow him@_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
