🏈 Why Tennessee is confident against Alabama

Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the week’s top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.

Here’s what we have for you today:

• Where the Alabama game can be won on Saturday

• What to do about Tennessee’s offense (and QB)

• An idea worth considering from another SEC football coach.

• A Tennessee Legend becomes an SEC Legend

TENNESSEE GOES FOR TWO STRAIGHT VS BAMA

What a difference a win can make.

Remember Oct. 15, 2022?

That’s the night Tennessee ended its 15-game losing streak to Alabama, winning 52-49 in one of the most exciting games ever played at Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee is now trying to build its own winning streak against Alabama.

But it won’t be easy (not that you expected it to be).

📍 Tuscaloosa, Ala.
⏰ 3:30 p.m. ET
📺 CBS
📻 99.1 The Sports Animal/WIVK

Alabama is favored by 8.5 points as of this writing.

Does that seem a little high?

Several computer projections think so.

Bill Connelly’s SP+ has the number closer to Alabama -5.

But here’s the thing: the point spread doesn’t really matter.

Tennessee has a chance to win the game — and the Vols know it.

Their defensive line is playing as well as any position group in the country.

Senior Tyler Baron is making an All-SEC case this season.

And sophomore James Pearce Jr. has been flat-out dominant.

Here’s something else that helps Tennessee: Alabama’s offensive line has been vulnerable.

The Crimson Tide have allowed 31 sacks this season.

That’s the most allowed in the SEC and ranks Alabama 129th in the nation.

Left tackle has been a serious problem.

True freshman Kadyn Proctor entered the season with a lot of hype.

But he and redshirt freshman Elijah Pritchett have struggled; they combined to allow five sacks in last week’s game against Arkansas.

Part of Tennessee’s plan is obvious: keep Alabama’s running game in check and attack quarterback Jalen Milroe.

The Vols will also have to watch out for the big play.

Despite Alabama’s protection issues, Milroe has had success throwing deep.

According to BamaOnline, more than 50% of Milroe’s passing yards and more than 80% of his touchdowns this season have come on passes 20-plus yards through the air.

Alabama’s offense is funny.

The Tide have struggled with some of the basics but managed to hit home runs.

Alabama is far from perfect.

The same can be said for Tennessee.

Yet, we’re talking about two teams with only one loss each.

So it should be a competitive matchup.

There’s also the issue of Tennessee’s offense, which we’ll get to in a moment.

But there’s another question that remains.

How will Tennessee fare on the road?

The Vols have played one true road game this season. And it… could have gone better.

That’s when Tennessee lost 29-16 at Florida.

Before that, Tennessee had awful showings at Georgia and South Carolina last November.

Can Tennessee play better on the road against a team trying to avenge last season’s loss in Knoxville?

(The Vols also haven’t won in Tuscaloosa in 20 years; not that you needed the reminder.)

If Tennessee’s defensive line plays like it has most of the season, the Vols should have a chance.

But if you’re in “need to see it to believe it” mode, that’s understandable.

You’re also probably wondering about another phase of Tennessee’s game…

WHAT ABOUT TENNESSEE’S OFFENSE?

Here’s the good with Tennessee’s offense: the Vols can run the ball.

They struggled to do so at Florida, but Tennessee’s offensive line is different with center Cooper Mays.

Tennessee ran for 232 yards last week against Texas A&M.

That was against an Aggies defense that hadn’t allowed anyone to have success on the ground before last weekend.

Jaylen Wright has backed up his big talk about how well Tennessee would run the ball this season.

The problem has resided with the Vols’ passing game.

Joe Milton III threw for only 100 yards against Texas A&M.

Here’s something you’re probably tired of hearing (or reading): the issues are not all on Milton.

Receivers have had drops and protection has broken down at times.

But there is no denying Milton has not played well.

Two weeks to prepare for Texas A&M appeared to do nothing to fix whatever is ailing Tennessee’s passing game.

That’s led many fans to (once again) ask: why not give Nico a chance?

There has been no indication Tennessee’s coaches have considered the idea.

We’ve barely even seen Nico Iamaleava this season.

He played late against Virginia and UTSA. That’s it.

Practices are closed so whatever Iamaleava is doing during the week is hidden from the public.

We asked Austin Price of Volquest this week how ready Iamaleava would be IF he were needed to play.

Price said he doesn’t know — and he’s not sure anyone does at this point.

But Price explained that Tennessee’s players have supported Milton through his struggles.

“The chemistry is so important,” Price said. “And if Joe has the backing of the guys that are playing, that’s hard to kind of flip and just go to somebody else when you’re 5-1.”

That answer might not satisfy you at this point.

You might be in the camp of wanting a quarterback change; you might still believe Milton can get it done.

Either way, he’s the guy right now.

And for Tennessee to win at Alabama, Milton needs to play better than he did last week.

Everyone should agree on that.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 Our own Jayson Swain was quoted in this story by Yahoo’s Jay Busbee about last year’s win over Alabama — and the goalposts that came down after the victory.

🏈 Can Josh Heupel’s Vols win a big game on the road? Let’s take a deeper look here.

🏈 Michigan has found another NCAA issue, this time over alleged sign stealing from Jim Harbaugh’s program.

🏈 Here are some proposed NFL trades before the deadline. Will the Titans move star running back Derrick Henry?

🏀 The media picked Tennessee to win the SEC in basketball. The Vols are ranked No. 9 in the initial AP poll (and No. 8 by KenPom).

⚾ We might finally have some competitive play in the MLB playoffs after Thursday’s results. Houston and Texas are tied 2-2 in the ALCS; the Phillies have a 2-1 lead on Arizona.

STAT THAT WILL MAKE YOU SAY ‘WOW’

The biggest college football game among the unbeaten teams will take place in Columbus, Ohio.

No. 3 Ohio State will host 7th-ranked Penn State at noon ET.

Ohio State’s biggest win to this point came at Notre Dame.

The Buckeyes rallied to beat Notre Dame in the final minute — leading to an emotional defense of his team from OSU coach Ryan Day.

On the other side, Penn State will face its toughest test of the season by far.

ESPN writer Chris Low told us Thursday that coach James Franklin has a team that’s as complete and balanced as he’s coached at Penn State.

The Nittany Lions have destroyed the competition to this point.

In fact, look at these results from the last 13 games, a.k.a. a full season of action, for Penn State.

Ohio State is favored by 4.5 points in this one.

So Penn State can keep its cover streak alive without winning the game.

The Nittany Lions’ goal is to win, of course.

And the winner of this game will get all kinds of national attention.

And more importantly, check a big box for their playoff hopes.

CREDIT TO A TENNESSEE LEGEND

Former Tennessee wide receiver Joey Kent was recently named to the 2023 SEC Football Legends Class.

Kent reached legendary status for Tennessee fans when he scored an 80-yard touchdown on Play No. 1 against Alabama in 1995.

Kent, a native of Huntsville, Ala., finished his Tennessee career as the record holder in receptions (183), receiving yards (2,814), receiving touchdowns (25), 100-yard games (15), and average yards per catch (18.8.)

All five of those records stand today.

Kent joined Josh and Swain on Thursday and told us about the call he received to inform he’s been named an SEC legend.

Great perspective here:

We also discussed Tennessee’s offense and the Vols’ attempt to win a second straight game against Alabama this weekend.

Check out the entire conversation with Joey Kent below. ⬇️

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