Over the summer, as the alignment of the newly-expanded SEC was being debated, the University of Alabama's athletic administration fought fiercely to preserve its annual rivalry with Tennessee.
It would be easy for a cynic to look at this weekend's game, which Alabama enters as an 18-point favorite, and observe that it is easy to see why. But it's not really about recent history of the notoriously streaky series.
Nick Saban has beaten the Volunteers in each of his first five seasons, with only one close call. Setting aside the intra state rivalry with Auburn, most Alabama fans of recent vintage would regard Alabama-LSU as a far more significant series. Even Alabama-Florida, not an annual event, carries more resonance with fans (and with the two teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the first BCS poll of 2012, fans of both teams would love to see a renewal in Atlanta.)
There are still plenty of Alabama fans, though, who cherish the Tennessee series for many historical reasons. For years, the two teams dominated the SEC. At Alabama, there was a Tennessee rivalry for a long stretch of years when Auburn wasn't even on the schedule.
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