We approach the Third Saturday in October, and that can only mean one thing… a showdown between Tennessee and Alabama.

Last year's meeting between the Vols and the Tide was an instant classic, and according to Tennessee football legend Peyton Manning, the game that swung the rivalry in favor of his alma mater, even though it was their first win in the rivalry in fifteen years.

“It’s funny, I mean I can’t think of the last time Alabama’s beaten us,” Peyton Manning said of the Tennessee football team on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t Matt Connolly of On3.com). “We obviously took care of business last year. The series has been so one-sided since 2022. So I’m gonna tune in Saturday, but I think I kind of know what’s going to happen. We’ve kinda had our way with them since 2022,” Manning continued, utilizing the quick wit and sense of humor that was partially responsible for a deal being reached with ESPN for an alternate Monday Night Football broadcast appropriately called “ManningCast,” where Peyton and his brother Eli Manning offer a unique and oftentimes humorous perspective on the game.

Though this year's matchup between Tennessee and Alabama may not be as high profile or have the same stakes as last year's game, the Tennessee football program can make an even larger statement than they did last year if they can knock off the Crimson Tide for a second consecutive season. It would be only the second time in the last ten years that Alabama has lost to an SEC opponent in back to back seasons (Ole Miss in 2014 and 2015).

Going into this matchup, Alabama leads the all-time series with a 58-39-7 edge, but those 39 wins for the Vols are the most by any school against Alabama.