No. 11 Tennessee will travel to Tuscaloosa, AL, this weekend for a Third Saturday in October rivalry matchup against the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide. Both teams are riding multi-game win streaks into the contest on Saturday, but only one will walk out with the resume-boosting victory for their record.
Tennessee’s offense has continued its high-powered form at the midpoint of the season. The Vols’ passing game is ranked No. 1 in the conference, the run game is at No. 3 in the conference, and scoring leads all SEC foes at 48.17 points per game. But for Tennessee to win this Saturday, it’ll need its defense to step up in a major way on the road.
Led by Heisman-contending quarterback Ty Simpson, Alabama’s pass game is ranked third in the SEC. Crimson Tide wide receiver Germie Bernard was recently asked on The Next Round about going up against the Vols’ defense and what he sees, and it’s safe to say that senior wideout is eager for his opportunity against the Big Orange this weekend.
“They like to play man-to-man, and they want to bring the house,” Bernard said on The Next Round on Monday. “So, yeah, it’s a great opportunity for our offense. They give up a lot of yards, but that’s because they trust and believe in their guys to get the job done. For us to have the opportunity to go against man-to-man, it’s a field of dreams. That’s what receivers want, those one-on-one matchups. It’s just going to be up to us to go out there and make the plays.”
“For us to have the opportunity to go against man-to-man, it’s a field of dreams.” – Alabama WR Germie Bernard on facing Tennessee’s defense which ranks last in the SEC in passing yards allowed per game (257.8 ypg) pic.twitter.com/v92H2A0UQT
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 13, 2025
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This is the second straight week that Tennessee’s opponent has provided bulletin board material for the Vols’ defense, with Arkansas running back Mike Washington saying that Tennessee’s defense was great but had a lot of holes before the game last week. According to Voice of the Vols Mike Keith, Tennessee’s players heard that message. It wouldn’t be a surprise if these comments got back to the locker room, as well.
As for Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez, he’s not worrying about the outside noise. Martinez was asked about Bernard’s comments during a press conference with the media in Knoxville on Tuesday morning.
“I really don’t read what’s being said,” Martinez said. “That’d be the first time I’ve heard it. I’m sure that they probably listen to stuff like that. Or it’s out there on social media. We just care about how we prepare. We know that our opponent is a good team. Obviously, everybody that we play is really good, and they’re going to be ready for us. We’ve just got to be at our best when we play them. And they got great receivers. We know that. We faced them last year. They’ve got a couple of other guys, too, that are doing a really good job. A quarterback that’s hot. (Ty) Simpson is doing a really great job of managing the offense and being very productive. So we’ve got to do a good job again on those early downs trying to get them behind the sticks to force the third down and longs and be efficient and the best we can.”
Alabama’s offense is averaging 304.5 passing yards per game, while quarterback Ty Simpson is second in the league in total passing yards (1,678) behind only Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (1,680). Simpson and the pass game have been a key instrument in helping the Tide jump out to a 3-0 start in SEC play. He threw for 276 yards in a win over Georgia, 340 yards in a win over Vanderbilt, and 200 yards in a win over Missouri. Simpson has been efficient, too, completing 70.9% of his passes on the season.
Tennessee’s defense, meanwhile, has struggled to stop the pass on a consistent basis. UT cornerback Colton Hood has continued to be great this season, but Tennessee’s secondary as a whole has had issues stopping the big play at times this season. The Vols’ defense ranks last in the SEC in opponent passing yards per game at 257.83 YPG.
As Bernard alluded to, though, there’s a path for Tennessee to find success against Alabama’s pass game. It all starts up front. Tennessee’s pass rush has been exceptional this season, with the Vols leading the conference in sacks through the first six games (26). Tennessee will need its pass rush to continue to play at a high level for all four quarters to see if it can rattle Simpson off his game.
No. 6 Alabama will host No. 11 Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the game this weekend from Tuscaloosa.
