FOOTBALL CENTRAL: Tennessee at #1 Alabama

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee heads to Tuscaloosa to face No. 1/1 Alabama on Saturday at Bryant–Denny Stadium. The game will feature a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS.

Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Gary Danielson (analyst) will be in the booth and Allie LaForce will report from the sidelines. Vol Network radio affiliates will have a live audio broadcast with Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Brent Hubbs. Sirius Channel 138 and XM Channel 190 will also carry a live audio broadcast.

Tennessee (3-3, 0-3 SEC) is coming off a 15-9 home loss to South Carolina on Oct. 14. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Guarantano made his first career start in the loss and completed 11 of 18 passes for 133 yards.

Alabama (7-0, 4-0 SEC) took a 41-9 home win over Arkansas last week. The Crimson Tide racked up 496 yards of offense and Damien Harris led UA with 125 rushing yards and two scores on nine carries.

Alabama is ranked No. 1 in both the Week 8 AP Top 25 (all 61 votes for No. 1) and the Week 8 Amway Coaches Poll (all 63 votes for No. 1).

Tennessee-Alabama Rivalry

Tennessee and Alabama will meet for the 100th time on Saturday. Alabama leads the all-time series 54-38-7. The Crimson Tide has won each of the last 10 games of the series.

In 2016, Alabama took a 49-10 win over Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.

UT’s last win in the series was on Oct. 21, 2006, when the Vols took a 16-13 victory in Knoxville. The Big Orange’s last win in Tuscaloosa was on Oct. 25, 2003, in a five-overtime thriller that ended with the Vols on top, 51-43.

Kelly Stands As One of Nation’s Top RBs

Junior running back John Kelly leads the Vols in rushing (552) and receptions (24). He is one of only TWO Power 5 running backs to lead his team in both categories, joining Penn State’s Saquon Barkley (649 rush yards, 29 catches).

Kelly leads the SEC in all-purpose yards and yards from scrimmage (133.7), while ranking No. 15 overall nationally and No. 8 in the Power 5 in yards from scrimmage. He ranks second in the SEC in rushing yards per game (92.0).

Kelly was added the Maxwell Award Watch List last week.

Gaulden Leads Nation’s No. 2 Pass Defense

Redshirt junior nickelback Rashaan Gaulden tied a career high with 10 tackles and added one TFL against South Carolina, while allowing just two receptions for four yards on five targets.

Gaulden leads UT’s pass defense, which is allowing just 129.2 yards per game – second in the nation behind Navy (127.7).

The Vols’ D held South Carolina and quarterback Jake Bentley to 129 yards through the air – over 100 yards below their season average of 242.7 entering the game and the Gamecocks’ lowest output of the season.

Daniel On Pace To Break SEC Record

Redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel is a contender for the Ray Guy Award as his 48.17 season average ranks No. 3 in the nation and has him on pace to break the SEC single-season record (48.15, Ricky Anderson, Vanderbilt, 1984). Daniel held a career-best 52.3 average vs. South Carolina, including four punts of 50 or more yards. He leads the SEC with 17 punts of 50 or more yards and his 15 punts were inside opponents’ 20 are tied for first in the league. His 45.7 career average is best in UT history.