Alabama LB Luke Metz discusses Third Saturday in October vs. Tennessee: ‘It’s gonna show our character’
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The Third Saturday in October means one thing in SEC country: Alabama vs. Tennessee. The Crimson Tide and Volunteers meet for the 108th time on Saturday, with the Tide looking to improve on their 60-40-7 record in the series.
Winning at Neyland Stadium, though, has been an issue for the Tide in recent years. After a seven-game winning streak in Knoxville, Alabama has lost its last two trips to Rocky Top. It fell on a last-second field goal in a wild 52-49 game in 2022 and dropped a 24-17 decision two years later.
With a loss to Georgia behind them, the Tide can ill afford a second straight SEC loss if they want to control their own destiny in the conference championship race.
“We’ve got some guys banged up and injured. It’s gonna show our character this week, how we bounce back and down some guys coming off a loss, going into a hard road game against Tennessee,” linebacker Luke Metz said, per 247Sports’ Mike Rodak. “Big rivalry. It’s gonna show a lot about our team and our character this week.”
Alabama had six players listed as out on its initial availability report on Thursday. The biggest name by far is Ryan Coleman-Williams. The star wide receiver won’t play against Tennessee as he recovers from a knee injury and is week-to-week moving forward.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
