Things change quickly in the SEC. Two weeks ago, Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the country and Tennessee was ranked No. 4, and their traditional rivalry game — called the “Third Saturday in October,” and you can probably guess when it’s scheduled — wasn’t supposed to be a battle just for the SEC -dominance, but for national supremacy.

Well, Vanderbilt and Arkansas made statements, and then South Carolina and Florida threw a few punches, and suddenly what had been a clash of titans is now a scramble of desperation. Two teams on similar paths – dominance, a shocking loss, an uninspiring comeback – meet Saturday in Knoxville, and there’s a lot at stake for both.

Alabama is struggling to define its own identity. Since the second half of Georgia’s win 10 quarters ago, the Crimson Tide has looked alternately lost, opportunistic and unpredictable, but rarely dominant. Over the course of eight quarters against the Hogs and Gators, Tennessee has seen its potent offense early in the season evaporate.

Neither team is out of playoff contention; A loss might even be enough to make it to the SEC Championship game. But while Alabama and Tennessee went crazy in the mud, other teams — Texas, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M — continued to pick up wins, reducing the margin of error. Two losses might not eliminate a former top-five team from the playoffs, but two losses could very well be the difference between a home-campus playoff game and a cold trip to a hostile environment in late December.

The Tennessee-Alabama rivalry dates back to 1901 and has spawned hatred and cruelty, like virtually every SEC matchup. Filled with characters from Bear Bryant to General Neyland to Peyton Manning to Ken Stabler, it’s a rivalry of streaks. Most recently, Tennessee won 9 out of 10 from the mid-90s to the mid-2000s, and then Alabama won 15 in a row during the Nick Saban dynasty.

“I’ve been told it’s a big deal, and I know it’s a big deal,” first-year Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said this week, deliberately remaining silent. “As coaches, they are all great and you take them one at a time but definitely understand that the boys will be very motivated to do their best, prepare well and be great on Saturday.”

“It’s a rivalry game and college football at its best when these two teams face off,” said Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, “so we look forward to seeing our fans on Saturday.”

Almost two years ago to the day—that’s what happens when you play on the same weekend every year—Tennessee won perhaps its best game of the 21st century, beating Alabama at Neyland Stadium and sparking a cigar-smoke-filled celebration that ended with the… The stadium’s goalposts sank into the Tennessee River.

That likely won’t happen again this year if Tennessee wins, partly because a win wouldn’t end its decade-and-a-half losing streak, and partly because Tennessee now knows it has to act like it’s been there before. And partly because Tennessee knows that it’s no longer about beating Alabama, but about taking a step up.

In the first year of the DeBoer era, Alabama has already won a decisive victory, defeating then-No. 1 Georgia at home and a one-off loss, a shocking fall to Vanderbilt the very next week. Quarterback Jalen Milroe has had his Heisman hopes dashed with some questionable decisions and execution over the last two weeks – but he’s such a constant threat both in the air and on the ground that he can single-handedly hold the Tide together.

Over in Knoxville, Heupel is building a juggernaut to compete with the Georgias, Alabamas and Texases of the SEC. Under the leadership of redshirt freshman QB Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee then came back down to earth averaging nearly 64 points in the Vols’ first three games. Since then, Tennessee has not surpassed the 25-point mark.

“Obviously there are big plays out there where we’re a little off, but even in the running game, some of our passing plays that don’t go vertically down the football field, we’re close,” Heupel said. “Eleven guys have to operate completely as a unit.”

The key for Tennessee is this: This is not the Alabama of the Saban era, and this is not – for now – the Alabama that hung unanswered at Georgia in ’28. The Crimson Tide are vulnerable and Tennessee could take advantage of Alabama’s now fragile self-image. Iamaleava could follow in the footsteps of Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, both of whom had significant wins against Alabama’s secondary. If Tennessee can build a two-ball lead – not inconceivable given Alabama State – the growing doubts and deadly Neyland crowd could make for a crushing pressure.

DeBoer indicated earlier this week that he needed to get his defense off the field. “You look at yards per play and we make some teams earn it, but we just have to get off the field,” he said. “As those offenses continue to pile on top of each other and your defense has to make more plays, that starts to wear you down a little bit more.”

Alabama is the three-point road favorite, and if there’s a noticeable advantage here, it’s probably in experience. Milroe has already faced adversity on the road; Iamaleava is still a largely untested force against high-ranking opponents. (Sorry, NC State.) Alabama’s defense, while unpredictable and prone to giving up big plays, has been under a lot of pressure before; In Tennessee, this is largely not the case. Still, the home crowd at Neyland is terrifying and “Rocky Top” will be tattooed on the brains of every single one of the 100,000-plus spectators.

The winner of the Tennessee-Alabama game traditionally lights cigars to celebrate the victory. Whoever takes this one will enjoy the smoke for a moment… but for both teams to reach their potential for 2024, there’s a lot more work to be done.