Alabama, Tennessee Pit Strength Vs. Strength

There’s another knock on Tennessee than just its inability to beat Florida the Volunteers can’t beat Alabama in Knoxville.

The Crimson Tide have won five in a row at Neyland Stadium, dating to 1986. And when the Vols won in ‘84, the score was 28-27.

On Saturday, it’s No. 7 Alabama and No. 6 Tennessee for the 79th time - and the seventh when both teams are ranked in the Top 10.

While the Vols (4-1) are out of the national title picture for now, the Crimson Tide (7-0) need a win to remain on course for an SEC title showdown against No. 1 Florida, followed by a Sugar Bowl berth.

But getting past Peyton Manning & Co. won’t be easy. While Alabama excels on defense, the Vols’ offense could be mighty tough to stop.

“I think he’s very accurate, he’s in total control of the offense and knows exactly what’s happening,” Alabama coach Gene Stallings said of Manning. “And he doesn’t waste many plays.”

Alabama has a new defensive coordinator in Mike DuBose, and the Tide rank fourth nationally in total defense at 206.7 yards per game. They allow just 10.9 points per game.

Led by Manning, who is 120-of-180 for 1,691 yards and 10 TDs, the Vols are scoring 39.2 points per game and averaging 462.4 yards - 349.4 passing.

For Alabama, Freddie Kitchens is 90-of167 for 1,277 yards and seven TDs, and Dennis Riddle is the go-to guy with 535 yards and nine TDs.

In the SEC race, Alabama is first in the Western Division at 4-0, while the Vols are 2-1 and second in the Eastern Division.

The Manning factor is the difference… . No. 7 Alabama (plus 15) at No. 6 Tennessee… . TENNESSEE 31-21.

No. 2 Ohio State (minus 14) at No. 20 Iowa: Two straight big upsets seems unlikely for Hawkeyes… . OHIO STATE 31-14.

No. 14 Virginia (plus 16) at No. 3 Florida State: Payback time for Seminoles, left at the goal line in last year’s loss to Cavs… . FSU 31-10.

No. 4 Arizona State (minus 14) at Stanford: Believe it or not, Cardinal beat Sun Devils last season… . ARIZONA STATE 45-20.

Kansas (plus 31-1/2) at No. 5 Nebraska: Huskers get a better grip on the ball this week… . NEBRASKA 45-7.

Texas (plus 10) at No. 8 Colorado: Longhorns trying to avoid a fourth loss… . COLORADO 35-21.

No. 9 North Carolina (minus 21-1/2) at Houston: First football game between schools… . UNC 27-10.

No. 10 Michigan (minus 13) at Minnesota: Wolverines just getting by these days… . MICHIGAN 24-10.

Illinois (plus 12-1/2) at No. 11 Northwestern: Wildcats don’t need luck in this one… . NORTHWESTERN 31-13.

No. 25 Miami (plus 3) at No. 12 West Virginia: Can the Hurricanes really lose three in a row? … WEST VIRGINIA 24-19.

Mississippi State (plus 19) at No. 13 LSU: Could be a big day for Tigers’ QB Herb Tyler… . LSU 42-13.

No. 15 Brigham Young (minus 15-1/2) at Texas Christian: BYU’s Steve Sarkisian is on another TD roll… . BYU 42-14.

Oklahoma (plus 18) at No. 16 Kansas State: Sooners looking for three-game winning streak… . KANSAS STATE 35-14.

No. 17 Penn State (minus 14-1/2) at Indiana: Curtis Enis romps… . PENN STATE 27-10.

Tulsa (plus 12) at No. 21 Utah: Utes have won six straight… . UTAH 27-13.

No. 23 Washington (minus 7) at Oregon: Ducks are well-rested… . . OREGON 31-28.

No. 24 Southern Mississippi (minus 10) at Tulane: Green Wave still wet after loss at Army… . SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 24-10.

Last week: 15-6 (straight); 11-10 (spread). Season: 114-23 (straight); 69-63-2 (spread).