The Vols have been known to be the underdogs against Alabama but now that their savior has abandoned the post, the orange men will advance with their full force. The Alabama-Tennessee rivalry is one of the oldest traditions in college football, known more prominently as the ‘Third Saturday in October. Kalen DeBoer will face off against Josh Heupel on 19th October and though it has been easy for Alabama in the past, things might not be as breezy anymore.

Kalen DeBoer took over for Nick Saban this year when the veteran announced his retirement after 17 glorious years in Tuscaloosa. Since then, a swarm of expectations stands before the former Huskies’ head coach, who will look to appease the passionate Alabama fans in his debut season. From 2008 to 2023, Nick Saban has met with the Vols over 16 times and they only lost once in the series in 2022. Now that Kalen DeBoer has been handed the captain’s hat, he will need to ward off the Vols to prove himself as they continue to gain popularity for constructing a strong team through the transfer portal.

The Tennesee Vols will be one to look out for

Ever since the 5-star Offensive Tackle David Sanders committed to Josh Heupel’s team recently, all the attention from teams like Colorado, Georgia, or even Alabama, shifted directly towards Tennessee. Sanders is probably the best OT in the nation and choosing the Vols over offers from Michigan and other elite teams is a sign of the building comeback of Tennessee and thus, could be the cause of DeBoer’s downfall.

On the 19th August episode of the ‘Late Kick with Josh Pate‘, he went on to talk about how Tennessee has the potential to go all the way this season and is “one of the sneakiest well-put-together NIL operations in college.” They were recently crowned as the 5th ranked program in the list of 2025 recruiting class, which proves that they are bringing in astonishing talents for the next season, if not this year. Additionally, UT landed over 23 commits this season, out of which they have one five-star prospect and 13 four-star recruits, making it their highest-ranked class in 10 years. When it comes to Alabama though, the Vols will need more than a star-studded roster to take the lead on one of the most profound rivalries in college history.

A brief look at the ‘Third Saturday in October’ rivalry

The first time these giants met was in 1901 in Birmingham and from 1903 to 1913, Alabama had the upper ground, only losing once and never allowing a touchdown by Tennessee. The current record between the two giants stands at 59-39-7 with the Vols lagging miles behind. While the gap is extensively huge, Tennessee is the only program in college football that has over 39 wins against Alabama.

In the years of 1995-2001, Tennessee had its longest winning streak when Alabama lost 7 straight games. But Nick Saban led a revolution against Tennessee when he didn’t lose a game until 2022. 15 straight games unbeaten, is what Nick Saban’s legacy stood for and more but now that Kalen DeBoer is at the reins, the Vols will be the first test of his abilities to prove that he is up for the challenge.