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The third Saturday of October.

It always sends a shiver down your spine. The rivalry between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers can’t be understated. These two programs have always carried on vitriol and hatred since the beginning of time.

Nick Saban himself even considered Tennessee bigger rivals than the instate Auburn when he was coaching.

Which is why this game holds so much weight. Rivalry aside, the Crimson Tide are coming off a heartbreaking loss against the Georgia Bulldogs, while Tennessee has dealt with an identity problem on the offensive side of the ball all season.

Both programs hold a 5-1 record, and a loss immediately puts one of them in the hole for the rest of the season.

For the Crimson Tide, there are four aspects of the game to look out for.

Do Not Let MacIntyre Get Hot

Alabama’s defense has been a major strong suit this season, but it hasn’t been all perfect. The Crimson Tide rank 90th in the FBS, allowing about 236.5 passing yards per game.

Gunner Stockton of Georgia chewed up the Crimson Tide defense last week, particularly targeting Dijon Lee, who had one of the worst games of his young career.

The difference is, between Georgia and Tennessee, the Volunteers have one of the SEC's least experienced quarterback situations. True freshman Faizon Brandon was named the starter at the season’s beginning, but due to struggles and an injury, coach Josh Heupel gave the ball to sophomore George MacIntyre.

From what we’ve seen, MacIntyre has been pretty effective, completing 65% of his passes with a pair of touchdowns, though his two interceptions against Arkansas last week are a cause for concern for the Vols.

That may be beneficial to the Tide. Despite Alabama’s struggles against the pass, it leads college football with four pick-sixes.

Tennessee is hardly the perfect team, but it’s still an SEC rivalry with a whole lot of hatred between these two programs. After the disappointment last week, the Tide need to use this game as a “get right” moment.

Part of that is to put pressure on MacIntyre and force him to make bad decisions. MacIntyre isn't particularly mobile, so putting pressure on him and forcing him to make quick decisions should be Alabama's top priority.

Get Creative With Play Calling

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has never been shy about getting a little creative with his plays.

But Saturday’s game may have to be one that opens up the playbook a little bit more.

What does that mean? Getting the tight ends more involved.

We have seen more action from Marshall Pritchett, but this is the ideal game to get him more involved. Kaleb Edwards as well, who has really excelled as a blocker, along with Josh Ford.

Another part is to provide quarterback Keelon Russell with more read options.

Keep the Vols’ defense on its heels. To steal a line from Gordon Bombay of the Mighty Ducks movie series, you have to “make them make the first move.”

If it weren’t for Tennessee’s defense the past two weeks, the Vols may have been 0-2 in conference play against lesser opponents.

It’s clear the offense has struggled, but the defense, which ranks 16th in the FBS in points allowed per game, has been saving their bacon.

This won’t be an easy game for Russell, who has been incredibly dynamic in the first six starts of his college career. Keeping the Vols on their toes will be paramount.

Quick Decisions

Get the ball out.

It sounds simple, but it won’t be easy.

Russell won’t have a lot of time to make decisions in the pocket, so he’ll either likely have to use his legs quite a bit, or focus on short-yardage passes to keep the offense flowing.

Tennessee’s pass rush has been dynamic, led by defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam. It’s third in the FBS with 3.6 sacks per game, with three defenders posting four or more sacks.

Alabama’s offensive line has been, in a word, leaky thus far. The Tide’s quarterbacks have been sacked on average 2.7 times per game, ranking 108th. It’ll be even more difficult with starting center Racin Delgatty, who is questionable, nursing a lower body injury.

If Delgatty can’t go, then expect Mal Waldrep to slide toward the middle. 

It’s going to be a grind though, since Gilliam is one of college football’s most explosive linemen. Waldrep, who has shown that he can adapt, will need to be quick with his movements against Tennessee’s front.

Need A New Receiver to Step Up

Star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams will not be available for this game, and potentially longer.

The Crimson Tide already know what they have in Lotzeir Brooks and Rico Scott, so we will have to see more out of both Derek Meadows and Cederian Morgan.

Meadows will likely be the first one to be granted the opportunity. There was a belief that he would take a major step in production this season, but being buried behind three already-established receivers didn’t help his case.

Unlike Alabama's other established receivers, Meadows offers a different perspective. He’s a tall and powerful receiver who has exceptional body control and great hands.

We saw what he can do in the first game against East Carolina, where he hauled in three receptions for 44 yards, and he made a huge play in the Georgia game, which also featured a heroic heave by Russell.

On the other side, Morgan is a player that has given Alabama fans a lot of hope.

You never want to compare a true freshman to a football legend, but it's hard not to think of Julio Jones when watching Morgan. He wears No. 8 and has a similar 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, giving Alabama fans plenty of reasons to be excited about his potential.

Still, it may be too early to give Morgan an extended look. He only has one reception of the season, which ended up being his first collegiate touchdown.

Either way, Meadows is ahead of him on the depth chart, so we should expect him to at least get the first look in Coleman-Williams’ absence.

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