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The Tennessee football team and the Alabama football team are linked by a tradition referred to as The Third Saturday of October. It's that time of year in the SEC. The Vols and the Tide meet in Week 7 of the college football season. Let's make some Tennessee football predictions before a huge game which will be the centerpiece of the coming weekend.
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Tennessee Football Predictions For Game Vs Alabama Football
4. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker will throw for two touchdowns
Hendon Hooker is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate for Tennessee. This is his day, his moment, to make his case as a Heisman finalist and a top-tier contender for the award. Voters will remember if he beats Alabama and lifts the Vols to a higher level in the college football world. It's true that a lot of Heisman voters focus on late-November and early-December games to make their decisions, but beating Alabama is significant at any time of year and at any point in the college football season. Everyone knows what this game means to the Tennessee program, so if Hooker is able to deliver the goods and carry the Vols to victory, it will show up in the Heisman vote. The only way in which Hooker could beat Alabama and not be a Heisman finalist is if Tennessee loses multiple games down the stretch and completely loses steam … but of course, if the Vols do beat Bama, the only likely loss left on their schedule is against Georgia.
3. Tennessee will allow over 450 yards to Alabama
The Tennessee defense knows that Bryce Young is likely to play this week for Alabama. Young suffered a shoulder injury a few weeks ago against Arkansas and did not play this past weekend versus Texas A&M. One could say that Young and Alabama are uniquely vulnerable, and that would be a reasonable thing to say. We obviously don't know exactly how healthy Young's shoulder truly is, so this is a very speculative exercise. Yet, if Young is able to play, that clearly indicates that whatever happened to him at Arkansas has been managed enough — and has been improved enough — to the point that Young should be able to lead the Alabama offense the way he normally does. If that is indeed the case, and Young is not significantly impaired or hindered, Alabama should be able to roll up the yards against a Vol defense which is far from an elite group.
2. Tennessee will score 30 points
The Vols won't be dominated by Alabama's defense, but they also won't dominate the Alabama defense. They will land a few shots. They will move the ball. They will get into the red zone plenty of times. The big challenge will be to finish drives. Hooker often struggled with his decision-making in 2021. This needs to be a game in which he is letter-perfect (or close to it) in the red zone. If Tennessee doesn't thrive in the red zone, it won't score 38 or more points, which is what it might need to win this game.
1. Tennessee Volunteers will lose to Alabama Crimson Tide in SEC showcase
Tennessee is a good bet to cover the 7.5-point spread, but that would be cold comfort to the Vols if they can't actually win this game. They have a legitimate chance to win against an Alabama team which has not been dominant this season, but for the Vols, it's a case of not having earned the benefit of the doubt until they actually prove they can win games such as this one. Alabama 34, Tennessee 30.
