For a second straight year, the Third Saturday in October rivalry won't fall on the third weekend of the month. Other than that, No. 4 Alabama is hoping its annual grudge match against Tennessee keeps to its typical recent trend.
Alabama (6-1, 3-1 in the SEC) is looking for its 15th straight victory over Tennessee (4-3, 2-2) as it plays host to the Volunteers on Saturday. The Crimson Tide is currently a 25-point favorite for the 6 p.m. CT kickoff inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Here are five things to watch heading into the matchup.
Holden's beginning to break out
There’s a video clip from Bryce Young’s days as a Southern California commit where the five-star quarterback was pushing Traeshon Holden to join him with the Trojans.
“Traeshon Holden, Alabama commit,” Young said at the time, making a face and putting air quotes on the latter half of the statement. “I don’t really believe it. I think he’s bluffing. We’re working on Traeshon.”
As fate would have it, the two did indeed end up playing together in college. However, it was Young who changed paths as he flipped to Alabama in September of 2019. This season, the Tide is beginning to reap the rewards of that pairing.
While Young’s Heisman campaign has been well documented, Holden is also starting to emerge in Alabama’s offense. Last week, the receiver recorded a career-high three receptions for 70 yards, including his first collegiate touchdown on a 29-yard score from Young.
So far this season, Holden has hauled in nine receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown, recording at least one catch in six of Alabama’s seven games. Earlier this month, Nick Saban referred to the sophomore as “the most consistent guy” of the Tide’s young receivers.
As for Young, he hasn’t seen anything too different from his teammate in recent weeks. After all, the quarterback has been high on Holden for a while now.
“He’s been ready, always been prepared,” Young said Monday. “He hasn’t done anything crazy different. He’s always been ready, always been prepared. He’s someone who approaches everything with a very professional attitude. His number got called this past weekend and he was able to take advantage of it.”
A pair of reunions
The Third Saturday in October still holds plenty of meaning to Alabama and Tennessee fans, but the rivalry is beginning to get a bit friendlier between the two programs.
There’s been a bit of intermingling between the Tide and Volunteers in recent years. Former Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt’s three-year stint as Tennessee's head coach saw him put together a staff with several Alabama ties. He also brought over Alabama offensive lineman graduate transfer Brandon Kennedy, who started for the Volunteers the past two seasons before electing to forgo a final year of eligibility this year.
This season, the rivalry will feature a pair of reunions as Alabama linebacker Henry To’o To’o and Tennessee defensive back Brandon Turnage face their old teams for the first time.
To’o To’o, a junior, took advantage of this year’s new transfer rules this offseason to join Alabama after starting at Tennessee the past two years. Turnage, a redshirt sophomore, did the same thing in reverse after spending two years as a reserve at Alabama.
Turnage has primarily taken on a reserve role at Tennesee but earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago as he made his first career start while filling in for an injured Theo Jackson at Star against South Carolina. That week, he recorded a game-high 14 tackles, including two stops for a loss — much to the delight of his former Alabama teammates.
“Me and BT (Turnage) speak every day, he’s one of my best friends,” Alabama safety Jordan Battle said. “We have a long-life relationship. I’m very happy for him. I’m proud of him.”
Added Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore: “He’ll always be family no matter where he’s at.”
To’o To’o has also been experiencing success on the other side of the rivalry. Through seven games, the starting Mike linebacker leads Alabama with 54 tackles. During last week’s win over Mississippi State, he matched a career-high with 13 stops while also recording a sack.
“Henry’s like a brother to me,” Tennessee receiver Velus Jones Jr. said Tuesday. “I was close with him from this past season. I’m just happy for the guy. He’s balling. They’re playing good over there, playing good football, and really just looking forward to this game because it’s the next game.
“But competing against my brother, I know it’s going to be fun out there. We’re all going to be competing, we’re all competitors. We’re just looking at it as the next team. After we can shake hands and laugh about it.”
Tennessee’s tempo
Saban’s Alabama defenses have generally had their way against Tennessee. Along with posting a 14-0 record over the Volunteers since joining the Tide, the head coach has limited Tennessee to less than 21 points in all but one of those meetings.
Replicating that feat this year could be more of a challenge.
Led by first-year head coach Josh Heupel, Tennessee currently ranks third in the SEC and No. 11 nationally averaging 39.3 points per game. The Volunteers have scored more than 21 points in all but one of their seven games and have scored 45 or more points on three occasions. That’s quite the difference from last year’s attack which averaged 21.5 points per game.
One of the biggest changes comes in tempo. According to TeamRankings, Tennessee ranks second in the SEC and 12th nationally averaging 79 offensive plays per game, up from 68.9 plays last season.
“They almost have a similar offensive scheme to Ole Miss,” Battle said. “They’re very fast. We’ve got to focus on getting lined up early and getting the call and making sure we execute.”
Alabama had success stopping Ole Miss’ up-tempo offense during a 42-21 victory over the Rebels. Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally averaging 81.6 plays per game but recorded just 63 plays during the loss to the Tide.
Another late-season surge from Anderson?
Despite leading the nation’s freshmen with seven sacks last season, Will Anderson Jr. didn’t bring down a quarterback until Alabama’s Week 8 game against Auburn. As the Tide enters the eighth week of the season this year, the star outside linebacker has already matched his freshman total.Four of Anderson’s seven sacks this season came during last week’s win over Mississippi State as he became the first Alabama player to reach that total in a game since 1988. With that in mind, could we see another late-season surge this season?
While it’s possible, Saban is perfectly content with the way Anderson is producing already.
“I mean the guy plays hard every down,” Saban said. “He gives everything he’s got every down. Aight, so it’s the old adage, you ask a guy to give 100 percent, aight — which he always does, which I appreciate, and he’s a great competitor. Aight, so now I’m going to go ask him today after your question, ‘Can you give 110?’ There’s no such thing.”
Anderson’s seven sacks lead the SEC and rank fifth nationally. This week, he’ll be going up against a Tennessee offensive line that has allowed 25 sacks over seven games, including a combined 11 over the past two weeks against South Carolina and Ole Miss.
“He’ll continue to improve as a player as he gets more experience and knowledge, and we can utilize him the best we can to help him make plays,” Saban said. “I have tremendous respect for competitors who give all they got, and he already does that.”
Will Hooker be healthy?
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is practicing this week but still faces an uncertain status heading into Saturday’s game against Alabama. Hooker suffered an apparent knee injury over the weekend as his leg buckled awkwardly after being tackled from behind by Ole Miss defensive end Sam Williams during the final drive of the Volunteers’ 31-26 loss to the Rebels.
"He's still day-to-day at this point, getting some work on the field," Heupel said during the SEC teleconference Wednesday. "As we get to the end of the week, we'll know if he'll be available for this one."
After being helped off the field, against Ole Miss, Hooker was replaced by Joe Milton III, who went 1 of 2 for 12 yards on the drive while also running out of bounds for a 13 yard gain to end the game.
Through seven games, Hooker, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech, has completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,296 yards and 14 touchdowns with one interception. He’s also added 390 yards and four more scores on a team-high 89 carries. Milton, a redshirt junior, has appeared in five games, completing 46.7 percent of his passes for 255 yards and a touchdown while adding 156 yards and two scores on 23 carries.
"Both guys are very capable," Saban said earlier this week. "They're very similar in style in terms of the way they play. They're big guys, strong arms, accurate passers. And they have the ability to make plays with their feet and run quarterback runs."
While Tennessee would rather have its starter available against Alabama, Heupel expressed confidence in Milton on Wednesday, crediting him on his competitive preparation during practice.
"There's been some things that he's done at a really high level in the pass game and in the run game too," Heupel said. "There's been times where he hasn't executed the way that he's fully capable of. At that point, that's the growth and maturity and maturation of a quarterback. He's got to continue to grow."
