No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1) at No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1)
2:30 p.m. CDT Saturday (ABC)
Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee
1 Alabama coach in the SEC era has won five of his first six games with the Crimson Tide – current coach Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer is the first first-year Alabama coach with a 5-1 mark since Frank Thomas started his 15-season tenure with the Tide by going 9-1 in 1931, two seasons before the SEC’s first campaign. Red Drew in 1947, Ray Perkins in 1983, Bill Curry in 1987 and Nick Saban in 2007 were 4-2, Bear Bryant in 1958 was 3-2-1, Gene Stallings in 1990, Mike DuBose in 1997 and Dennis Franchione in 2001 were 3-3, Mike Shula in 2003 was 2-4 and Ears Whitworth in 1955 was 0-6 after his first six games.
3 Teams rank in the top 10 in scoring offense and defense and total offense and defense nationally, including Tennessee. By per-game average, the Volunteers are No. 9 in points scored, No. 4 in points allowed, No. 9 in yards gained and No. 2 in yards allowed. Texas is No. 7 in points scored, No. 1 in points allowed, No. 7 in yards gained and No. 1 in yards allowed. Ohio State is No. 6 in points scored, No. 5 in points allowed, No. 6 in yards gained and No. 5 in yards allowed.
4 Victories and six losses for Alabama coaches in their first game against Tennessee in the SEC era. Red Drew in 1947, Bill Curry in 1987, Gene Stallings in 1990 and Nick Saban in 2007 won against Tennessee in their first season with the Crimson Tide. Ears Whitworth in 1955, Bear Bryant in 1958, Ray Perkins in 1983, Mike DuBose in 1997, Dennis Franchione in 2001 and Mike Shula in 2003 lost to the Vols in their first season as Alabama’s coach. Kalen DeBoer will be guiding the Tide against Tennessee for the first time on Saturday. DeBoer will be the second first-year Alabama coach to lead a ranked team against the Volunteers, the seventh in a row to face a ranked Tennessee team and the first to open against the Vols in a ranked-vs.-ranked game. On Oct. 15, 1983, Perkins’ No. 11 Tide lost to unranked Tennessee 41-34. Since then, the Volunteers have been ranked for every meeting with a first-year Alabama coach, with Curry upending No. 8 Tennessee 41-22 in 1987, Stallings upsetting No. 3 Tennessee 9-6 in 1990 and Saban defeating No. 20 Tennessee 41-17 in 2007.
6 Consecutive games with at least one rushing touchdown for Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson, who ran for three TDs in the Volunteers’ 23-17 overtime victory against Florida on Oct. 12. Sampson is the first Tennessee player with a rushing TD in six straight games since Montario Hardesty in 2009. Sampson has run for 15 TDs in 2024, the most by a Tennessee player in one season since Tony Thompson ran for 16 in 1990. The only other Volunteers with more rushing TDs in a season are Gene McEver with 18 in 1929 and Reggie Cobb with 17 in 1987.
7 Starts have been made by QB Nico Iamaleava for Tennessee. The Volunteers have a 6-1 record and have outscored their opponents 288-64 during Iamaleava’s starts. He’ll seek to become the first true or redshirt freshman quarterback to start a Tennessee victory against Alabama since Erik Ainge in 2004.
11 Rushing TDs by Alabama’s Jalen Milroe in 2024, two short of the school single-season record for a quarterback established by Jalen Hurts in 2016 with 13. Milroe has 24 rushing TDs during his Alabama career, one more than Hurts had during his time with the Crimson Tide.
12 Alabama-Tennessee games have been played on Oct. 19. Each team has won six.
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13 Victories in 15 games against teams ranked in the AP Poll by Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer. Among active NCAA FBS coaches, DeBoer ranks seconds for victories over ranked opponents behind the 17 of Georgia’s Kirby Smart. Third on the list is Tennessee’s Josh Heupel with 10 victories over ranked opponents.
19 Points are the most that have been scored against Tennessee in the Volunteers’ past seven games. It’s the longest stretch of games without any of Tennessee’s opponents reaching 20 points since a seven-game stretch in 1998 that included a 35-18 victory over Alabama. Tennessee hasn’t held more than seven straight opponents to fewer than 20 points since doing so in the final nine games of the 1985 season. Alabama has scored at least 20 points in 17 consecutive games and has at least 34 points in each of its past eight games against Tennessee.
25 Yards per reception have been averaged by Alabama WR Ryan Williams this season, the best in nation among players with at least 11 receptions. Williams has 23 receptions for 576 yards and six TDs. He has more receiving yards than any other freshman in the nation.
30 Victories and one loss for Tennessee under coach Josh Heupel when the Volunteers are ahead at halftime. The lone loss came on Oct. 21, 2023, in a 34-20 setback against Alabama, which Tennessee led 20-7 at halftime. Tennessee has outscored its opponents 149-12 in the first half this season.
42 Points have been averaged by Alabama and Tennessee this season. The Volunteers have scored 253 points and the Crimson Tide has scored 250 points in six games apiece. Alabama has exactly twice as many points as its opponents this season. Tennessee is a field goal short of having four times as many points as its opponents this season.
107 Football games between Alabama and Tennessee when they kick off on Saturday. The Crimson Tide leads the series 60-38-8 on the field. The teams have squared off annually since 1928 with the exception of the 1943 season. Alabama leads the series 13-9-1 when both teams are ranked, which is the case this season.
140 Alabama points have been the responsibility of QB Jalen Milroe, whose responsibility-average of 23.3 points per game is the second-highest in the nation this season. Milroe has 12 TD passes, 11 TD runs and one 2-point conversion pass. Miami (Fla.) QB Cameron Ward has 20 TD passes, three TD runs and two 2-point conversion passes for 142 points for a 23.7 average.
316 Games have been played by Alabama since it was most recently shut out. Alabama’s scoring streak is the third-longest in SEC history. Alabama’s most recent shutout loss came 9-0 to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000.
699 Rushing yards for Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson this season, the most in the SEC. Sampson has averaged 5.9 yards and scored 15 TDs on 118 carries. Alabama’s rushing leader in 2024, RB Jam Miller, has 360 yards and five TDs on 51 carries.
1,350 Games for Tennessee when the Volunteers take the field against Alabama on Saturday. Tennessee has an on-the-field record of 881-415-53. Eight percent of the Vols’ games have come against Alabama, and the Crimson Tide is responsible for 14 percent of Tennessee’s losses.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
