The Tennessee Volunteers’ offense hasn’t scored a touchdown in its last 10 quarters. That streak could stretch all the way to 14 when it faces the nation’s top-ranked team, the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa Saturday in a game that could be Vols’ head coach Butch Jones’ last in creamsicle orange. The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS (live stream).
Tennessee vs. Alabama 2017 live stream: Time and how to watch online
The Volunteers — and embattled head coach Butch Jones — need a miracle to escape Tuscaloosa with a win.
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Alabama has rolled over its opponents in a 7-0 start. The Crimson Tide have won all but one of their games this fall by 17 points or more. They’re outscoring SEC opponents by an aggregate 193-31. They haven’t lost at home since 2015.
None of these stats bode well for the Vols.
Time, TV channel, and streaming info
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- TV: CBS
- Streaming: CBS Sports
- Odds: Alabama is favored by 33 points.
Tennessee at Alabama news:
- Alabama is a five-touchdown favorite Saturday, which is the largest spread in the history of this rivalry.
When looking back at the past lines on this matchup — Covers.com goes all the way back to 1985 — the closest Alabama came to being a 34-point favorite was in 2011, when the Tide was a 29-point favorite. Bama ended up winning that game 37-6, covering the spread. The next closest was in 2013 — the Tide went into the game as 28-point favorites and won 45-10.
- Butch Jones won’t get fired after the Alabama game, but if he loses to Kentucky, he might as well start packing up his office.
Which coach on Tennessee’s staff would you consider likely to be competitive against Alabama? Defensive line coach Brady Hoke? Offensive coordinator Larry Scott? Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, who might not even want to be a head coach?
Sources indicated that if a move occurs, it would likelier be at the end of the regular season.
- How do the Crimson Tide beat you? By turning your offense into an inefficient mess.
The efficiency charts look about how you’d expect them to, given the box score. The Arkansas offense wasn’t totally dead on arrival, as we’ve seen before this season (looking at you, Vandy), but Alabama’s offense more than doubled the Razorbacks’ success rate and big play rate. Call it a solid win.
- S&P+ paints a grim finish for Tennessee — 5-7 and with a loss to Southern Mississippi.
The model actually liked Tennessee to win last week against South Carolina. Six to seven wins were the most likely case for the Vols to finish 2017 with last week. Now after a loss, the model suggests a five win season is very possible — if not likely.
Will this be Butch Jones’ last stand with the Volunteers?
Jones has always been more potential than production in Knoxville. While he’s succeeded in luring blue chip prospects to his program, he’s failed to develop those players into useful pieces. Tennessee has been a major culprit in the crumbling of the SEC East, winning only 14 of its 35 conference games under Jones. The fifth-year head coach may already be as good as fired — unless he can pull off a miracle Saturday afternoon.
Tennessee at Alabama prediction:
Pain. Alabama 127, Tennessee -4.
Subscribe to the Read Option
A daily-ish mini-column on the college football thing of the day, with some other stuff too.
See More:
