Alabama vs. Tennessee: Early point spread released on Crimson Tide vs. Volunteers

The third Saturday in October is upon us and that means the traditional matchup between Alabama and Tennessee is on tap. The early point spread has now been released, too.

Alabama will enter the game as an 8.5-point favorite over Tennessee, according to lines released by FanDuel. The over/under is set at 53.5.

The Crimson Tide are coming off a fifth straight win, albeit another close one. Alabama managed to top SEC West rival Arkansas 24-21, one week after dispatching Texas A&M in a similar one-score game.

But while things may not quite be firing on all cylinders for the Crimson Tide, they’re plenty good enough to get the team back in the College Football Playoff discussion as the outright leaders in the SEC West race.

Get to Atlanta and there’s always a chance that you can play your way into the College Football Playoff.

Of course, there’s a long way to go before quarterback Jalen Milroe and Alabama get there. Milroe, though, is playing better football of late and has really shown the ability to make key plays in vital moments. He did that on the team’s final drive against Arkansas, closing out the game effectively.

Tennessee, on the other hand, started off the season hot but fell to Florida on the road.

They rallied from there to get to 4-1 going into a game against Texas A&M this weekend, which proved to be quite the interesting cross-divisional clash.

Perhaps part of the reason the early point spread is relatively close is that Tennessee managed to snap a 15-game losing streak in the series last season in a phenomenally compelling game in Knoxville, Tenn. The game came down to the wire, with the Volunteers winning on a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation.

Alabama owns the overall series 59-38-8, with 105 games already played between the two programs.

The two teams are scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday, with a national broadcast on CBS.