You can hear the whispers.

You can detect a tad of doubt, even a touch of it.

It’s not fear. It’s just a dose of deep concern for an Alabama team that’s 6-0 but has teetered on the brink of defeat in half of those games.

The escape act in Austin last month. The near 2nd-half flop in Fayetteville on the 1st day of October. And the chaotic ending last Saturday night at Bryant-Denny that was 2 little yards from turning into a complete meltdown.

It hasn’t always been aesthetically pleasing for the Crimson Tide, who lost their No. 1 ranking in the AP poll to Georgia for the 2nd time this season.

They’ve battled through the floods of penalty flags on the road. They’ve dealt with inconsistencies at wide receiver, particularly with Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton.

And, oh, they lost their all-world, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Bryce Young, in the win at Arkansas and had to grind through last Saturday’s turnover fest against Texas A&M without Young.

And now, with Young practicing this week but still very much a question mark going forward, here comes the “it team” right now in college football — No. 6 Tennessee, which will welcome the 3rd-ranked Tide to Neyland Stadium on Saturday for a showdown that could blossom into one of the signature SEC games of the 2022 season.

The surging Vols are 5-0 and gaining confidence by the week under 2nd-year head coach Josh Heupel. They are ultra-talented and have a real shot to be the team that finally stems the Tide after losing to Bama 15 times in a row since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.

And, yeah, it might finally happen. Tennessee might finally beat Alabama.

There are numerous reasons for this year to finally be the year for the Vols. But will it actually be?

Here are 3 key reasons the Crimson Tide will ignore the whispers and doubt and concern, and turn back the Vols for the 16th straight time:

1. Bama will have the best player on the field, even without Young

And that best player would be linebacker Will Anderson Jr., who makes his big, bad presence felt even when some of the stats say he didn’t. Take last Saturday’s game against Texas A&M, when Anderson had a “measly” 2 tackles, 1 solo, and 1 tackle for loss. He failed to record a sack, and in this space he was picked as one of the “5 things I didn’t like” about Bama’s win over the Aggies.

But hold on a second, because Anderson still managed 8 quarterback hurries, which was mentioned in the story but glossed over way, way too much. All those hurries without 1 single sack simply proved that Anderson can have a major effect on a game without eye-popping numbers in the tackle and sack departments. That’s greatness. And it can permeate an entire defense, which is why the Tide could still be in good shape in a hostile environment like Saturday’s.

Tennessee, for all its talent on both sides of the ball, doesn’t have a Will Anderson Jr. He’s a unicorn in the college football world, and it’s titanic stages like Saturday where players like him are destined to make a difference. It doesn’t mean he definitely will, but Anderson knows the NFL is in his future, like probably next fall, and these are the games where memorable performances turn you into high 1st-round draft picks, maybe even the 1st overall pick.

Anderson has heard those aforementioned whispers about a dip in Bama’s play this season, particularly in those less-than-impressive wins over Texas and Texas A&M. He shot back at all that this week during an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, saying he blocks out all the fan and media criticism and focuses on what’s in front of him. In a few days, talented quarterback Hendon Hooker will be in front of Anderson, and don’t be surprised if Hooker is on his back a few times, courtesy of the best player on the field.

Anderson told Finebaum that Bama is still the standard of college football. On Saturday, he can be the driving force in driving that point home.

2. Bryce will be back, if not at 100 percent

This is obviously just a hunch. But it’s a pretty confident hunch, because Young seems to be trending in the right direction this week in practice and because he was smartly held out of last week’s game to give that shoulder time to heal.

Last Saturday night against the Aggies felt like way too soon for Young to return to the lineup. It would’ve been just 1 week after he sprained his right shoulder, and the Tide were at home and a 24-point favorite, and freshman backup Jalen Milroe seemed equipped to keep the train on the tracks for 1 night after his fine performance in place of Young at Arkansas.

Young led the Tide out onto the field but he didn’t warm up, and he soon was a cheerleader/coach/adviser to Milroe and his teammates. He laid low for 1 game while Milroe starred and stumbled — and fumbled twice — and while his teammates held on for a win. It was all less than ideal, but everyone got through the night, and Young’s shoulder was much better for it.

This Saturday against the Vols doesn’t feel like it’s too soon for Young. It seems like just the right spot, 2 weeks after the injury and with another week of cautious practice, for Young’s re-entry into the fray. Saban used a baseball term when talking to the media about Young on Wednesday night, saying his star quarterback is on a pitch count as he prepares to hopefully face the Volunteers. For those who don’t dabble in baseball, that simply means they are being really cautious with Young so he doesn’t aggravate that shoulder.

They are taking it slow and being deliberate. But read between the lines of what Saban has said this week compared to the leadup to last week’s game, and you see the differences. You see that all signs are pointing to Young not just leading his team out of the tunnel but leading his team on the field. Assuming that happens, we likely won’t get Bryce Young at 100 percent. But if it’s Young at 90 percent, that’ll make all the difference in the world in a brutally tough environment that demands excellence.

3. Better running game gets Tide to the finish line

You’ve watched showdown games like Saturday’s through the years, and there are usually 2 common threads to who ultimately prevails.

One is the turnover battle, and Bama must be better in that department than it has been for most of the 1st half of the season.

The other is who runs the ball better — from start to finish, but particularly in those 3rd-and-4 situations with the deafening crowd trying to will the home team to a crucial stop. Alabama will be in a lot of those situations on Saturday, and it has the personnel to match up and be successful, especially if you throw Young into the mix but even with Milroe.

Through 6 weeks, Alabama leads the SEC in rushing, not Ole Miss. The Tide have piled up 1,543 yards rushing, averaging 257 yards per game and almost 7 per carry. They have 13 rushing touchdowns, and if they want to win Saturday in Knoxville, they’ll need to add a few more to that list, maybe 3 more. We think they will, led by Young (or Milroe) and Jahmyr Gibbs, who has been the Tide’s most consistent offensive threat through the season’s 1st half in his 1st season in Tuscaloosa. Gibbs has piled up 532 yards while averaging 8.3 yards per carry.

Throw in Jase McClellan and even Trey Sanders and Roydell Williams, and the Tide have a bevy of backs who can make an impact on a stage like Saturday’s.

The Vols, incidentally, rank 6th in the SEC in rushing, not horrible but around the middle of the pack.

We’ll use another baseball term, since it is October after all. A great running attack in big football games is like having great pitching in, well, the month of October. That’s what usually wins in the biggest moments. The Tide have had that so far this season, and it could very well be the deciding factor on Saturday in quieting those nervous whispers, for at least another week.