Vols Expect Line of Scrimmage Game Against Alabama

(utsports.com) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After punctuating its three game homestand with a hard-fought 20-13 victory over Texas A&M last week, No. 17/15 Tennessee hits the road for the first time in over a month for a ranked battle against No. 11/8 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon.

This year’s edition of “The Third Saturday in October” will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and be nationally televised on CBS.

The Vols will be looking to make it two straight wins over the Crimson Tide for the first time since the 2003 and 2004 seasons after coming out victorious in an instant classic last year in Knoxville.

In order to accomplish that feat, UT will be counting on another stout performance from its defense, which continues to improve each week and is coming off a dominant showing in the win over Texas A&M on Saturday, holding the Aggies to just 277 total yards.

“Up front – front six, front seven and then in particular our front four – just played really good football,” head coach Josh Heupel said during his Monday press conference. “I thought those guys did a really good job of changing the way the game is played. I feel like they are continuing to improve as we go through this season. Proud of the effort. We’re going to need a great one from them this Saturday, too.”

Tennessee comes into this weekend’s game ranked third in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 17.0 points per game and fourth in total defense, giving up only 303.0 yards per contest.

The Big Orange have also benefitted from an improved offensive line, a unit that has had two of its best performances this season over the past two games, due in part to the return of starting center Cooper Mays.

“They played extremely physical,” Heupel said. “I thought they did a really good job with everything that was going on from the perspective of what we were seeing defensively from them. The communication was elite, Coop did a great job getting everybody on the same page.”

UT racked up 232 rushing yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry against an A&M defense that entered the game leading the SEC in rush defense, allowing just 84.0 yards per contest.