Paul Finebaum evaluates Tennessee's chances to beat Alabama

Paul Finebaum is not a fan of Tennessee’s chances to knock off Alabama this coming weekend in a high profile game in the SEC.

The Volunteers’ offense is just not clicking at the moment, especially with rollercoaster performances from Joe Milton at quarterback. Without a productive offense, it might be tough to keep up with Alabama, which has a high powered attack, albeit an inconsistent one.

You put that all together and it’s only a small chance Tennessee leaves Tuscaloosa with a win.

“Very slight Matt,” Finebaum said on SportsCenter. “Tennessee just does not have any offense this year. They barely got through Texas A&M, they needed a punt return, so they really only had 13 points offensively. 

“This is not the same Josh Heupel team we saw last year in Knoxville when Hendon Hooker was lighting it up, explosive as anybody in the country.  They have to win on defense which causes them a lot of problems against Alabama, which has a pretty good offense.”

The Third Saturday in October rivalry was owned by Alabama from 2007-21, with the Crimson Tide not dropping a single game. That changed last year when Tennessee beat Alabama 52-49 in Knoxville.

Obviously, both of those offenses were high scoring. This year, it could be quite different.

Nick Saban thought otherwise when he was asked about preparing for Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton. He knows he can be dangerous.

“Well, I don’t see Joe a whole lot different than, you know what we played against in the past,” Saban said. “When Hendon Hooker was there. The guy can throw the ball, he’s accurate. He’s got a strong arm, can make plays down the field, which, you know, they take a lot of vertical shots and he certainly has the capability of making those plays. But he’s also athletic enough to extend plays in the pocket and run if necessary.”

Saban made sure to give a good review of Milton, but noted his defense shouldn’t treat him any different when Tennessee comes to town.

“I don’t tell them anything different than any other time you’re playing a quarterback,” Saban said. “You can’t get pushed by the quarterback. You got to keep the guy in front of you, got to have discipline in pass rush lanes and got to try to make the guy throw the ball on time, you know from the pocket and hopefully we can cover them well enough to make it work in the back end.”