No. 6 Alabama, stung by a loss to Georgia, visits No. 14 Tennessee as George MacIntyre makes his second career start
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For once, the Third Saturday in October falls on the third Saturday in October.
No. 6 Alabama (5-1, 3-1 SEC) visits No. 14 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1) at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC in the 109th meeting of a rivalry that began in 1901 with a 6-6 tie. Alabama leads the series 60-40-8 and won last year's game 37-20.
Both teams have one loss, and both came by three points. Alabama fell 20-17 to No. 1 Georgia last week. Tennessee lost 20-17 to Texas on Sept. 26.
The biggest news is Tennessee's quarterback. George MacIntyre has been named the starter over Faizon Brandon, who is off the injury report. It will be MacIntyre's second career start, and it comes against a defense ESPN's Football Power Index ranks fifth in efficiency. Brandon has thrown for 697 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Tennessee's offense will lean on DeSean Bishop, who has 678 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, and Mike Matthews, who has 396 receiving yards. Josh Heupel, in his sixth season, has a defense ranked eighth under Jim Knowles, and Xavier Gilliam has five sacks.
Alabama's offense ranks third in ESPN's index. Keelon Russell has completed 110 of 162 passes for 1,599 yards, with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. But the Tide are without leading receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, along with Racin Delgatty and Terrance Green. Trae'shawn Brown has five rushing touchdowns, and Luke Metz leads the defense with 43 tackles. Kalen DeBoer is in his third season, and his team has scored at least 45 points in four of its last five games. The question is whether that pace holds up in Knoxville without its top receiver.
Neyland Stadium seats 101,915 and will be full. The weather should be dry and 57 degrees, with gusts near 18 mph.
Both programs have championship pedigrees. Alabama claims 18 national titles, with Bear Bryant and Nick Saban building most of them. Tennessee's most recent title came in 1998 under Phillip Fulmer.
Alabama hosts Texas A&M next week, and Tennessee visits South Carolina.
Our score assumes MacIntyre starts because he was named the starter. With MacIntyre, we see Alabama 28, Tennessee 20. If Brandon were to start instead, we'd expect something closer: Alabama 27, Tennessee 22.
Our call: Alabama 28, Tennessee 20.