Rocky Top Roundtable: Alabama

Tennessee travels to Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the annual third Saturday in October matchup with Alabama. The crew from Volquest breakdown the matchup in this week’s Rocky Top Roundtable.

“The way this offense is scoring and they left a lot of meat on that bone against Arkansas,” Eric Cain said. “If your defense isn’t getting a couple of turnovers then yes a lot has to go right. Alabama is allowing a lot of yards on the ground. Alabama’s turnover margin is really good. They aren’t running the football effectively. Nick Saban isn’t on the sideline and there is some glaring evidence he isn’t on the sideline because this isn’t a monumental Alabama team but a very good Alabama team.”

Tennessee won 24-17 at Neyland Stadium last season and has won two of the last three, starting with the 52-49 win in Knoxville in 2022. The Vols led 20-7 at halftime in Tuscaloosa in 2003, but Alabama rallied with 27 unanswered points in the second half to win 34-20. The ability to score on the road Saturday night will dictate this game.

“The good news for Tennessee offensively when you look at them and go possession by possession, it’s hard to find a lot of possessions where you say the defense stuffed Tennessee,” Brent Hubbs said. “Feels like a lot of Tennessee’s stops are Tennessee stopping themselves. I’m not saying they are perfect but it’s a lot of Tennessee self inflicted wounds.”

Watch the full Rocky Top Roundtable below.

How to Watch: No. 11 Tennessee at No. 6 Alabama

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time | Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium

TV: ABC (Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath)

Radio: WNML 99.1 and WIVK 107.7 FM in Knoxville (Mike Keith, Ramon Foster, Brent Hubbs, Jayson Swain). The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.