Whoever makes the decision for where College GameDay travels each week had an easy call last Saturday night. The place to be in Week 7 is Knoxville, Tennessee.

Kirk Herbstreit confirmed ESPN’s pregame show will travel to campus Monday night, after rumors had surfaced the program would bypass Rocky Top.

Some may be hearing this for the first time. Herbstreit was quick to shut the idea down before it gained traction.

There were suggestions that the show had better options.

Sure, there are plenty of strong games. No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan, N.C. State at Syracuse and even Oklahoma State at TCU come to mind as worthy sites.

But everyone knows it’s the SEC that pays the bills.

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, GameDay travelled to Knoxville just 2 weeks ago, making its first trip since 2016. Did it disappoint? Absolutely not.

Tennessee’s raucous fan base – the same one that overtook LSU’s Tiger Stadium last week – showed out in the morning in front of the set. A few hours later, the Vols took care of business on the field against Florida. That’s nothing but a good look for GameDay. Tennessee being relevant again is good for college football, and there’s no better way to showcase it than that.

So why not try a second time? It’s not completely out of the ordinary for GameDay to travel to the same location twice in one year. The crew visited Athens, Ga., twice in 3 weeks last season, present for Georgia’s beatings of Arkansas and Kentucky in mid-October.

Both Tennessee and Alabama are ranked within the top 7 and Knoxville is a lively college town excited to see its team play with legitimate national championship implications on the line.

And, of course, the “Third Saturday in October” is due for its best rendition in recent memory.

First, it’s a match-up of 2 of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Both Bryce Young and Hendon Hooker are both exciting players with capable weapons, and they’re both having Heisman-worthy campaigns to this point.

Per Alabama coach Nick Saban, Young is trending in the right direction toward playing this weekend after injuring his shoulder in Week 5 against Arkansas. Young wanted to play last weekend against Texas A&M. Don’t think for one second he won’t be playing in Alabama’s most important test of the season thus far.

With or without Young, Alabama will be dedicated to continuing its 15-game winning streak against Tennessee.

But for the first time in some time, Tennessee doesn’t appear to be a pushover now that Alabama week is here. The Vols offense is the best in the SEC and can score with anybody in the nation. The defense is … getting there.

That was the major question mark heading into the season for Tennessee, but it clearly is a better unit today than it was a year ago. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner’s group, led by Byron Young and Tyler Baron, is putting pressure on the quarterback regularly, which eases some tension on a battered secondary. More on that soon.

The defense is improved, but still worrisome if upsetting the No. 3 team in the nation is to be achieved. Tennessee has yet to face an offense like Alabama’s this season.

Nor have they faced a quarterback like Young, one who can masterfully tear into pieces a secondary missing 2 starters from 2 weeks ago. Warren Burrell is injured and out for the season, and Jaylen McCollough’s status is to be decided after his arrest Sunday on a charge of aggravated assault. Who left can step up and cover Alabama’s seemingly endless supply of talented receivers?

Therein lies the essence of why Tennessee-Alabama is the premier matchup of the week. A lot will be learned about each team on Saturday.

Now is Tennessee’s time to prove it is a Tier 1 college football team on the grandest stage. Time to answer the questions about the secondary, about the defense’s efficacy against a Goliath.

There are Vols fans who don’t know the true nature of the Third Saturday in October. Anyone younger than age 20 or so can’t remember a time when Tennessee came out on top in this rivalry. Saturday, for the first time in some time, the Vols have a real chance.

College GameDay‘s decision was a no-brainer.