The Third Saturday has been a rivalry of streaks. One team dominates a decade (or 1½) in a row then swaps.

One such cycle closed in 2022 when Tennessee ended Alabama’s string of 15 straight wins before the Crimson Tide returned the favor last year.

Two years later, they’ll reunite in Knoxville in very weird places.

It’s hard to say who’s riding in with tailwind in the effort to start another streak in what’s looking more like an era of parity rather than rivalry control.

Once two of the hottest teams exiting September, both stumble into Neyland Stadium after two odd Saturdays in October.

After suffering twin road upsets to unranked teams last week, each bizarrely played home escapes against two more unranked teams on Saturday.

Alabama’s two spooky Saturdays included the road loss at Vanderbilt and a heart-stopping 27-25 win over South Carolina. A defensive disaster in Nashville was followed by general ineptitude in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Anyone reading this is familiar with the Crimson Tide’s struggles in recent games.

So, what’s the deal in Knoxville?

It’s mostly about the offense that averaged 64 points in its first three games and 22 since. Of course, the level of competition rose from beating up on Chattanooga, NC State and Kent State.

Where Alabama’s defense is among the league’s worst in points allowed in SEC games, Tennessee suddenly can’t score.

This looks like a showdown of a very stoppable object meeting an equally moveable force.

A 25-15 Tennessee road win at Oklahoma was the first of three offensive performances ending with similar numbers. The Vols finished with between 345 and 312 yards in each of its three SEC games after rolling up 740 against Kent State and 718 against Chattanooga.

As with anything, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Tennessee is nowhere near as explosive as it was against the cupcakes, but it is probably better than the low 300s in total yardage.

A 19-14 Vol loss at Arkansas on the same day Alabama lost to Vanderbilt took some of the outside attention away from this Third Saturday game. Georgia at Texas is the premier game on the national stage now.

Then Saturday, hours after Alabama’s narrow win over South Carolina, Tennessee’s offense was even more invisible against Florida.

Like the Tide, Tennessee escaped the second Saturday trap. It required overtime (winning 23-17) after going without points until 2:57 remained in the third quarter. The win could’ve easily been a Gator blowout if the visitors didn’t go 0-for-4 scoring touchdowns on first-half red zone trips.

A look at the Vols’ last three offensive games, statistically.

Opponent … Pass … Rush … Total … Points

Oklahoma … 194 … 151 … 345 …. 25

Arkansas … 158 … 174 … 332 … 14

Florida … 169 … 143 … 312 … 23

What’s the deal?

“I don’t think we’re far off, you know what I mean,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel told reporters after the Florida game. “But, man, it’s not just the pass game, it’s the run game, too. Missed assignments, fundamentals, technique. It’s guys [are] open, we don’t hit it. Guys [are] open, we’re getting pressured. It’s everybody taking their turn, and at some point we’ve got to say, you know what I mean, we’re going to man up and do our job and make this thing go the way that it’s capable of.”

Talent isn’t the issue. This is clearly a capable group. That also sounds a lot like the situation in Tuscaloosa with the Alabama defense.

The last three games haven’t been anything to remember for them, either.

Opp. … Pass … Rush … Total … Points

Georgia … 439 … 80 … 519 … 34

Vandy … 252 … 166 … 418 … 40

S. Car. … 242 … 131 … 374 … 25

In conference games, Alabama’s allowing 437.0 yards per game. That’s good for 15th of 16 SEC teams.

The story isn’t much better for the Tennessee offense. Its 329.7-yard average against SEC teams is 14th of 16.

That said, Alabama’s offense is fifth in SEC games and Tennessee’s defense is sixth.

Statistics aside, the eye test isn’t impressive for either as they head to Neyland Stadium on Saturday. They were cruising in September but middle of the pack since then.

You’re looking at teams who lost as double-digit favorites on the first Saturday of October and then escaped near-death experiences as double-digit home favorites on the second.

What’s to come on the third?

In this wildly unpredictable season, this one’s as tough to forecast as any. In a rivalry as streaky as any, you’ll see two teams Saturday eager to end their suddenly sagging play with pride and playoff hopes at stake.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE TENNESSEE LOTTERY

Everything Florida coach Billy Napier said after the Gators lost 23-17 in overtime at No. 8 Tennessee Saturday night at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville:

Florida’s decision to kick the point after at the end of regulation

“We had a play that we felt good about and then obviously they burned their timeout and I think we felt from the three there we were playing pretty good on both sides of our team at that point in time so we thought, ‘Let’s go play overtime. Let’s go give our guys a chance to play some more plays.’ Defensively, we kept ourself in it. Wasn’t quite ready to do that at that point in time.”

Florida not getting off a field goal at the end of the first half, the half ending on a Florida penalty

“It was relative to an injury, just to be cut and dry. It was a substitution error based on an injured player who stayed on the field. Yeah, that’s exactly what it was. The injured player that had been substituted on that unit did not come off. He stayed.”

Injury updates for Florida quarterback Graham Mertz and running back Montrell Johnson

“I think it’s tough. Obviously Graham played phenomenal in the game. I thought he was lights out. Really prepared well and came to play. He does have an injury, a lower-body injury. Obviously, we’ll give you some updates on that when we get to next week. It was significant enough that he couldn’t complete the game. I think that Montrell Johnson was in that category as well. He wasn’t able to return and then RJ Moten had an injury that was a little bit of a setback.”

This Florida team being really close to a good team

“I would think the defensive performance and then just our ability to move the ball throughout. We had opportunities in the red area. I think we’re three of six in terms of scoring opportunities, and ultimately that was the tale of the tape. Fumble on the 1-yard line; 3rd-and-1we get stopped, forced to kick a field goal; we go for it on 4th-and-1, great play by their corner running over the top, great tackle; and then we missed the field goal in overtime. Technically speaking, just a ton of missed opportunities in terms of points in the first half.”

What stuck out to him defensively

“We played with good gap integrity. I thought the line of scrimmage, on the edges, we tackled well, we mixed in the pressures. We were able to create some negative plays, made some long-yardage situations, and then ultimately we got off the field. We were pretty good on conversion downs throughout the day. So defensively, we we kept ourselves in the game. We had a chance to really take control of the game in the first half, and we missed on those opportunities.”

Florida freshman running back Jadan Baugh:

“Those guys are all capable players. Jadan and Ja’Kobi, both are rookies. But I do think they’re both very capable. Certainly, Jadan has already done some good things this year, and we have a ton of confidence in both players. They practice the right way. They have character, smart, they’re tough and they’re productive. So we’re going to continue to get those guys involved.”

The mood of Florida players

“It’s the hardest part about it. They played their tails off. I had a front-row seat to it. They played extremely hard in the game. There’s no guarantees in this game. You have to put yourself out there, with no guaranteed reward. It takes courage to do that. I think ultimately, there’s an opportunity here for our team. I just really believe there’s something good on the other side of this.  I do think that it’s a challenge. I think that ultimately we’re all going to be tested, we’re all going to be challenged. This game it’s going to be that way. If you’re a competitor, you play this game, you’re always going to be challenged, you’re always going to be tested, there’s always going to be scenarios where you don’t get the results you want. And do you have the discipline to reset, do it again? Or will you get distracted? Will you compromise your character? I don’t think we have that issue. I think we got a bunch of guys that care about each other, that played their tails off, that prepared the right way and competed. I think we just came up with a handful of plays short. That’s where, as a coach, it’s a punch in the gut relative to you just want to do everything you can do to help the players.”

Florida’s injuries playing into competition at practice

“We will continue to operate, it’s working. That’s what I would tell you. I think our kids have bought into it. It’s helped our level of play in all parts of our team.”

Florida playing hard, fighting in spite of injuries

“We got a group. We’ve got a great combination of players relative to veteran leadership and we have some young guys that have the right mindset and have the right makeup that have an opportunity to contribute. There’s a lot of guys, so many people that contribute to what you watched out there tonight. A bunch of them didn’t get a chance to make the trip but they worked their tail off all throughout the week to help the team prepare. It’s one of the best things about this group. Obviously, this will be a challenge here. We will have an opportunity to respond. We will play football next week.”

The performance from DJ Lagway

“One of the things about DJ that I respect is that as a competitor he has this unique ability to raise his level of play at critical moments. I think you obviously not only picked the right route progression but had to move and threw a strike in a critical moment. And, look, I thought he even did some of his more impressive stuff in the first half when he was playing. I thought he did a lot of really good things. For a rookie to go, play on the road in that environment, to step up in a big time, big moment. He’s got that in his DNA. There’s a bright future ahead of it for him.”

His confidence if DJ Lagway has to lead the team moving forward

“Well, he started one game earlier in the year and then obviously he’s had an opportunity to contribute each week. He’ll be more prepared. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I have absolute confidence in DJ Lagway.”

Florida’s failed jet sweep to Eugene Wilson III on fourth and inches

“We got them all blocked. I think the guy that had Tre man-to-man ran over the top of the play and made a heck of a play. We blocked the perimeter really well. DJ Made a good decision. I think it’s an outstanding play by the corner that had Tre, to show up on the other side. It was a good physical tackle and a really good play by the defender.”