Tennessee Can Cover at Home Against 'Bama

Alabama vs. Tennessee, 3:30 ET, Saturday

There aren't too many games that I would consider can't miss during the "regular season" for college football. I mean there are a ton of games that are no contest. That's not to say there aren't some surprises or something that you love to watch. But, every now and then, there are some games that pop up on the calendar that you want to be there to watch live. This is one of them.

Alabama is now the number three team in the country. That sounds strange for me to even say, honestly. Maybe it is the media hype every season or the fact that I didn't think anyone could beat them this year. Either way, they fell out of the top two, and now must face the sixth-ranked team in the country. How has Alabama done this season? Good enough. They've had a couple of scares, though. Both of those were against Texas teams and they both were one-score games. Their defense is still very special, allowing just 12.5 points per game on the year. Offensively, they are doing well too, but they need to improve their passing game. Bryce Young is having a season that most quarterbacks would love to have at this point, but for a guy with the talent around him, he needs to be able to put games away easier.

I've really enjoyed Tennessee this season. Hendon Hooker is probably my favorite quarterback to watch in college football. They've had a few close games, but have come out victorious in all of them and most of that is attributed to Hooker. Their most recent game was a victory over LSU in Louisiana. They didn't just win the game, they put a stamp on it after grueling victories in the other two games against ranked opponents. Now, Tennessee is scoring a lot of points which leads to opponents needing to score more and throw more often. On the year, they are averaging 307 passing yards allowed. If Young gets going against them, I think Tennessee will really struggle to keep up with Alabama.

This is somewhat of an audition tape for Hendon Hooker against what is as close to an NFL defense as they can get outside of maybe Georgia. If they want a shot at the National Championship this is the game to take. Was last week a look-ahead spot for Alabama and that's why the game was close? I really don't know. I've liked Tennessee this whole year and won't back off of them now. I think the right play is to take them at +7 for the game.

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