Jalen Milroe is Getting his First Shot at the Third Saturday in October Rivalry

The No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide is set to take on the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers this weekend in what will be a crucial game for both programs. The Crimson Tide is aiming to keep its standing as the top team in the SEC West, while the Volunteers look to position themselves as challengers in the SEC East with a win.

Not only do both programs still have legitimate chances at accomplishing significant goals for the season, but its a rivalry that was injected with new life last season by Tennessee breaking at 16-year losing streak in dramatic 52-49 fashion.

The Volunteers were only able to sack Heisman trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young one time last season, but officially recorded nine quarterback hurries, bringing intense pressure throughout the afternoon.

The struggles of the Alabama offensive line are well documented throughout seven weeks of action this year. The Crimson Tide is currently 126th in the country in protecting the quarterback, allowing 31 sacks this season. The Alabama offense has allowed four or more sacks per game in each of the last six games.

Enter the Tennessee Vols this weekend. The Volunteers rank 3rd nationally in defensive sacks as they've gotten to the quarterback 24 times this season. Defensive lineman James Pierce Jr. and Tyler Barron have gotten home six and five times respectively, but the Vols boast nine other defenders who've created havoc by tallying a sack.

"It's just another opportunity for us to have fun. We get to play in front of our fans this weekend so we're excited for that. A lot of energy will be in the air with playing a great opponent and it's going to be a lot of fun this weekend so we're looking forward to the challenge," said Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on Monday.

Milroe and the Alabama offense will have its hands full this weekend in what will likely be the most important aspect of the game.

They've already seen several prominent pass-rush units this year in Texas A&M (currently 2nd nationally), Ole Miss (currently 5th nationally) and Arkansas (currently 20th nationally). The Tide found a way to rise above the challenges of those previous defenses, scoring 26, 24 and 24 points respectively, but more importantly Alabama found a way to win each of those games.

"I think the biggest thing is the mindset of approaching things one play at a time. Not losing focus, I think that's very key. Not to get too high or get too low. You have to be in the same position all throughout the game, whether it's good or bad, I think that's very key, just to have the right mindset, the right approach," Milroe said. "Another thing too is just, mistakes happen. Mistakes happen. No matter who we are. We're not perfect. We're not perfect at all by any means, only one person in this world that was perfect is my lord and savior. We have to focus on that. The biggest thing too is just that everyone has mistakes, but we can all fix them and so that's very key. That's what we're focusing on. We all can get better so I think that's very key."

Alabama faces Tennessee in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 2:30 p.m. and enters the game as currently an 8.5-point favorite.

Nick Saban watches practice on Oct. 16, 2023

Jordan Renaud (90)

Jalen Milroe (4)

Jay Loper Jr. (32), Trey Amos (9)

Kool-Aid McKinstry (1)

JC Latham (65), Jaeden Roberts (77)

Deontae Lawson (32)

Caleb Downs (2)

Tim Keenan III (96)

Tyler Booker (52)