The Alabama Crimson Tide impressed a lot of college football analysts in their 20-17 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 6. Now it's on to the Third Saturday in October rivalry and a top-15 matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.
Alabama (5-1, 3-1 SEC) is No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and No. 7 in the US LBM Coaches Poll; Tennessee (5-1, 2-1) is No. 14.
While previewing Saturday's game in Knoxville, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt said on the Thursday edition of his popular video podcast and FS1 program that Alabama impressed him in the loss to Georgia.
Can the Crimson Tide stay consistent and rebound with the same level of effort and intensity against Tennessee?
"I'm really fascinated to see how Bama bounces back and how they play,
what sense of urgency they have, and what physicality they have up front after Saturday night," Klatt said. "We know that's a devastating loss. They feel like they should have won the game because of the non-call on the PI."
What Alabama football did to inspire Joel Klatt after Georgia loss
Klatt praised Alabama for being better in the trenches than it was a year ago, something that he felt showed in the Crimson Tide's loss to Georgia.
"If you peel it back, what did we see on Saturday night? What I saw was a team that is far better at the line of scrimmage than they were a year ago. A year ago, they would get into games and get decimated trying to protect the quarterback. Florida State comes to mind. (Oklahoma) got after the quarterback. Georgia in the SEC championship, Indiana in the Rose Bowl got after them up front... And I'm not saying they were as physical or even out-physical'd Georgia because they didn't and Georgia is still the preeminent program in the SEC. But man, it looked a little different on Saturday night, didn't it?
Can Alabama maintain that effort?
Klatt said:
"This is what the secret sauce of Nick Saban was. It's the fact that his teams were so consistent with effort and urgency, discipline, attention to detail. Those are things that you can control. You can't control a lot, but you can control your own effort level. That's something that we became so accustomed to with Alabama. This is something that we should, I think, rightly praise a team like Indiana for winning 22 straight games, or Notre Dame winning 16 straight. The coaches that can get their players to understand that the only thing they have total control over is their own effort level, those are the teams that can put their best effort forward every single week."
Klatt admits it's hard to do in the modern age of college football.
"We've seen the ups and downs out of programs this year, so my question for Alabama is, will you be consistent?" he said. "Do I get that same version of Alabama that I saw almost beat Georgia on Saturday night, and do I see them this week against Tennessee on the road?"
'This guy is special': Joel Klatt offers fresh praise of Keelon Russell ahead of Alabama vs. Tennessee
Klatt mentioned the absence of Alabama leading receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, who was listed as out for Saturday's game on Wednesday's initial availability report from the SEC. Even without the Tide's leading receiver, Klatt reiterated his belief in Keelon Russell.
"It wasn't perfect, and there were certainly things that he was going to want back off of last week's game, but trust me when I tell you this: I watched the entire film, and it is very difficult to decipher Georgia's defense. They disguise. They don't tell you what you're in pre-snap. You've got to decipher that post-snap. Very difficult for a young quarterback.
"(Russell) made some plays with his legs that are still, 'get out of your seat' style plays. This guy is a special player, folks. He really is. I liked (Alabama's) defense. I thought that they ran it against Georgia a lot better than I anticipated, a lot better than they did a year ago."
Joel Klatt doesn't like Tennessee's quarterback situation against Alabama
For Tennessee, one thing Klatt doesn't like is the quarterback situation for the Volunteers.
Former five-star recruit Faizon Brandon, who started the team's first five games, is listed as questionable for Saturday's game and didn't start Tennessee's Week 6 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville. Coach Josh Heupel turned to backup George MacIntyre, who was in a competition with Brandon for the starting job in fall camp.
The Vols' win over the Razorbacks didn't inspire Klatt.
"They struggled through the Arkansas game," he said. "Arkansas is struggling this year. (Tennessee) trailed going into the fourth. I don't love that. You see some of the games that Arkansas has played this year, and to play that way against them, maybe they were looking ahead to this game against Alabama. Maybe that's the case."
Klatt does, however, like Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop, who enters Week 7 second in the SEC in rushing yards and is averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
Alabama had a glimpse of Bishop's talents in the Tide's 37-20 win over Tennessee last year at Bryant-Denny Stadium when he ran for a game-high 123 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
"He's one of the best backs in the SEC," Klatt said of Bishop. "I think he's explosive."
What Tennessee must do to beat Alabama football
"He's got to be huge in this game," Klatt added of Bishop, who ran for 138 yards against Arkansas and had the game-winning score a week after totaling a career-high 228 rushing yards in Tennessee's 24-14 win over Auburn.
"They've got to be able to run the ball to protect the quarterback because if they don't, it's going to be a sack fest for Alabama," Klatt said of Tennessee. "We saw that against Texas. Texas had 10 sacks against Tennessee, and Tennessee's offense largely didn't do much. The reason Tennessee was in the game was because of Texas.
"And I love their home field. I love Neyland... incredible fan base. They'll be there. It'll be loud and difficult on Alabama."
Will Alabama beat Tennessee in Week 7 showdown? Joel Klatt's final score prediction
Klatt said he's seen enough to trust Alabama.
"I just don't know how I can get Tennessee to 20 points in this game without a defensive score, without a special teams score or something along those lines," he said. "I don't see it. I don't see them lighting up the scoreboard. They didn't against Texas, and they had those things and didn't get to 20."
For those reasons, Klatt has Alabama snapping a two-game losing streak in Knoxville and winning for the 18th time in the last 20 meetings against Tennessee in the Third Saturday in October rivalry.
His final score prediction:
"I've got Bama, 31-17, covering the 8.5. I'm going to go with with Bama. They might have a letdown. I'm hoping they don't. I want them to be that consistent, urgency effort team that we've known and come to love."
Klatt is 4-0 when picking Alabama games this season. He correctly predicted the Crimson Tide would beat Kentucky in Week 2, Florida State in Week 3, and Mississippi State in Week 5. He picked the Crimson Tide to lose to Georgia by three points.
ESPN predicts the final score of Alabama football vs Tennessee
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) October 15, 2026
📸 David Leong, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/Xpo8dDM6tP pic.twitter.com/EydP4PQqCe
Notre Dame at BYU, Missouri vs. Ole Miss and more college football Week 7 predictions from Joel Klatt
Here are more final score predictions from the Fox Sports analyst and color commentator for marquee matchups featuring top-25 teams outside Alabama-Tennessee heading into Week 7.
- Notre Dame 28, BYU 17
- Missouri 27, Ole Miss 24
- Michigan 20, Penn State 13
- Wisconsin 20, UCLA 17
- Oklahoma 24, Kentucky 17
Klatt did not give a score prediction for Ohio State-Indiana since he is calling the game for Fox.
TV channel, announcers, kickoff time for Alabama vs. Tennessee
ESPN reveals TV announcers for Alabama football vs. Tennessee
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) October 13, 2026
📸 Alan Poizner, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con https://t.co/cJ1MuRQjQi pic.twitter.com/RkI5u6wFrw
Kickoff for Alabama-Tennessee in Week 7 of the 2026 college football season is 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The game can be seen on ABC. Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy will have the call of the game. Katie George will report from the sidelines.
Additionally, the Crimson Tide Sports Network feed of the game featuring Alabama radio voice Chris Stewart and Tyler Watts can be heard on SiriusXM channel 230 and The Varsity App.
Alabama football schedule 2026
All times Central.
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates (W, 48-10)
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats (W, 45-17)
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles (W, 50-36)
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (W, 49-18)
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs (W, 56-23)
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs (L, 20-17)
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Aggies, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, TBA
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 5-1 overall, 3-1 SEC.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Joel Klatt gives Alabama football vs. Tennessee score prediction
