Kalen DeBoer on Alabama-Tennessee rivalry: 'I know it's a big deal'

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama-Tennessee rivalry returns this weekend, a rivalry so special that it’s not widely known by a nickname, but by a date: the Third Saturday in October.

As of late, Alabama has dominated the rivalry. The Crimson Tide only has a win streak of one game in the series currently, but has won 16 of the last 17 meetings with the Vols. That one loss in the last 17 meetings, which came in 2022, was former head coach Nick Saban‘s only loss to Tennessee in his Alabama career.

However, the hiring of Josh Heupel at Tennessee has given the rivalry a resurgence. In addition to winning the 2022 game, the Vols held a massive lead in last season’s meeting before being dominating by Alabama in the second half.

Now, Tennessee is itching to get back on the winning side of this rivalry, hosting Alabama for the first time since that infamous 52-49 loss two years ago that saw the Neyland Stadium goal posts hurled into the Tennessee River.

Tennessee’s path to doing so is a new face in Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer has never faced Tennessee before as a head coach, and also isn’t from SEC country. Despite his roots in the north, DeBoer told reporters during his press conference on Monday that he knows all about how important this rivalry is.

“I’ve been told it’s a big deal, and I know it’s a big deal,” DeBoer said. “You see it from afar. These are the games, much like we’ve had already a couple here, they’re the big ones that are on the schedule. As a coach, they’re all big in different ways, you take them one at a time, but you certainly understand the significance of the rivalry.”

The best rivalries in college football have a staple tradition, and Alabama-Tennessee is no different. In this rivalry, the winning team smokes cigars on the field and in the stadium, including fans, coaches, and players.

Asked specifically about his opinion on cigars, DeBoer avoided a direct answer, but made clear his intentions for Saturday and the preparation leading up to it.

“I know that this tradition goes back quite a ways, I know that cigars are a part of it,” DeBoer said. “But I know that what I’m trying to do is make sure we do our part as a football program and prepare, so that people can celebrate and enjoy the rivalry on our end. A lot of respect for Tennessee, their coaches, their players, but we’re just pouring into the things we can control and we can focus. We want to bring that joy not just to the hard work we put in personally and in this team, but also so our fanbase can enjoy it as well.”

Tennessee’s become known for its offense under Heupel, and this season the Vols are led by former 5-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who’s seen both wild highs and crushing lows this season. DeBoer explained what Alabama is going to need to do to slow down Iamaleava and the Volunteer offense, and how it isn’t much different that the plan for any other quarterback.

“I think he’s extremely talented. You can tell that they’ve got the skill on the outside to where they can hit the home run and make big plays at any time. I think a big part of it is trying to disrupt him to where the continuity and the flow is just not consistent,” DeBoer said. “That’s gonna be any quarterback any week, that’s the goal is to try to really cause some chaos and change things up on them. They get into their tempo off of positive plays. That’s the key is to try to make sure they don’t get into that rhythm, like any offense, that’s what you’re trying to do. He’s talented, you can see it’s there. He’s still growing and developing and we’ve just got to make sure we disrupt him enough and make sure we’re showing pictures, and getting bodies on bodies on the outside to make life hard, like we would want to any other opponent.”

This weekend’s game is monumental for a number of reasons, with SEC championship and College Football Playoff hopes on the line outside of the already-existing stakes of the rivalry. DeBoer will have his work cut out for him, but it seems as though he, and the team, understand what lies ahead.

“Guys are gonna be very motivated to go out and do their best, and prepare well and be great on Saturday.”