ESPN’s SEC Network is headed back to Knoxville for one of college football’s oldest heated dates, as SEC Nation will broadcast live from Tennessee’s campus ahead of Saturday’s Third Saturday in October matchup with Alabama.
The three-hour pregame show is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. to Noon ET and will air from the lawn outside Ayers Hall. That’s the same spot College GameDay used when Tennessee hosted Texas a few weeks ago.
Matt Barrie, Chase Daniel, Paul Finebaum, Roman Harper, Tim Tebow and Marion Crowder make up the SEC Nation crew. Tennessee Athletics said Marty Smith and Ryan McGee will also be on campus for the day’s events.
The week will wrap with another familiar face on the same lawn, as The Paul Finebaum Show is set to broadcast from outside Ayers Hall on Friday from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. ET.
This will be the seventh time SEC Nation has visited Knoxville during the Josh Heupel era, with previous stops for Tennessee-Georgia in 2021, Tennessee-Alabama in 2022, Tennessee-Texas A&M in 2023, Tennessee-Georgia in 2023, Tennessee-Alabama in 2024, and Tennessee-Vanderbilt in 2025. Overall, it will be the 14th visit to Rocky Top since 2014.
Saturday’s matchup also comes with a uniform twist. Tennessee and Alabama will both wear their home uniforms this year and again next year under a two-year agreement reached by the two schools and the SEC. Tennessee said it will be the first time since 1970 that its orange will match up with Alabama’s crimson on the field.
“The Third Saturday in October stands alone in college football, and we are excited to restore one of its most iconic traditions as both teams wear their home jerseys,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White said in a press release. “I’m grateful to Alabama AD Greg Byrne and his staff for their shared commitment to bringing this experience back to the fans of one of the sport’s greatest rivalries.”
On the field, both teams arrive at 5-1. No.
14 Tennessee has beaten Furman, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Auburn, and Arkansas. No.
6 Alabama’s wins have come against East Carolina, Kentucky, Florida State, South Carolina, and Mississippi State, while the Crimson Tide dropped last week’s game to Georgia by a field goal.
“The Third Saturday in October is special to our fans, players and VFLs, and bringing this tradition back adds another meaningful element to such a historic college football rivalry,” Tennessee HC Josh Heupel said in a press release.
Tennessee has gone 2-3 against Alabama in the Josh Heupel era, and Heupel is 1-1 against Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide. The Vols won in 2022 and 2024, while Alabama took the 2021, 2023, and 2025 meetings.
The game itself is set for 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday in Neyland Stadium, with No.
14 Tennessee hosting No. 6 Alabama in a Top 15 showdown.
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Lane Kiffin didnt have to look far to find a familiar storyline in his latest press session at LSU. The former Ole Miss coach was asked about Austin Simmons, the quarterback he once coached in Oxford, and the topic quickly turned into one that still carries plenty of interest around the Rebels. Simmons spent the 2023 through 2025 seasons at Ole Miss before transferring to Missouri, setting up an SEC matchup that will naturally draw extra attention from both fan bases.
Kiffin praised Simmons long-term NFL upside, even floating the kind of first-round buzz that always follows a quarterback with a strong development arc. He also brushed up against college footballs tampering conversation with a few light comments, a reminder that the transfer era has made these cross-conference reunions more complicated and more public than ever. For Ole Miss, the storyline is bigger than one game on the schedule. It is another chance to see a former quarterback in a new uniform, with the added wrinkle of hearing Kiffin still taking a few shots in Rebel territory. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Brings A Dangerous Twist To This Huge Oxford Test
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The twist for the Rebels is a familiar one, because Austin Simmons and Cayden Lee are now in Missouri colors and have been part of what has made the Tigers so effective this season. Missouris defense has also shown it can travel, most recently by slowing Florida running back Jadan Baugh after he had hurt Ole Miss in an earlier meeting, which only adds to the challenge staring down the Rebels in Oxford. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Is Winning Differently And That Should Excite Rebels Fans
Ole Miss left Nashville with another win, but the part that should catch Rebels fans is how the offense is piling up points these days. In a game where the scoring came from all over the roster, Trinidad Chambliss and Jam Brown each found the end zone, and the Rebels kept doing what has become a theme this season by finishing every trip inside the red zone.
Suntarine Perkins added a different kind of highlight, scoring the first touchdown of his career while also reaching his 20th career sack. Seven touchdowns from seven different players is the kind of spread that says plenty about how deep this team can be, and it gives Ole Miss a look that feels both balanced and dangerous as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]