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Vols insider explains why Tennessee Vols fans absolutely need to cheer for a top SEC rival this weekend
Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

Tennessee Vols fans are going to have to do something they don't want to do this weekend.

Due to College Football Playoff implications, Vols fans need to cheer for one of Tennessee's biggest SEC rivals on Saturday.

The Alabama Crimson Tide.

Vols insider explains why Tennessee fans absolutely need to cheer for Alabama this weekend

Alabama is set to play at Missouri on Saturday afternoon.

Vols fans are usually rooting for Alabama to lose no matter who the Crimson Tide are playing. This week, though, Tennessee fans need to root for Alabama to beat Missouri due to the Tigers' favorable schedule down the stretch (which could lead to Missouri beating out Tennessee for a spot in the College Football Playoff depending on how things play out).

"I know Tennessee fans hate Alabama," said VolQuest's Austin Price on 104.5 The Zone on Tuesday. "But I'm kind of for Alabama on Saturday, if I'm a Tennessee fan, against Missouri. Because Missouri's schedule just is not that tough. And if Missouri were to win that game, like, where are you checking off a bunch of losses at down the stretch for Missouri?

"Whereas Alabama, you look at and go, okay, they gotta play LSU. They gotta play Oklahoma. They gotta play Tennessee. They gotta play Auburn. They've already lost to Florida State. There's multiple opportunities that [Alabama] can end up with two to three losses."

Missouri finishes the season by playing at Auburn, at Vanderbilt, vs Texas A&M, vs Mississippi State, at Oklahoma, and at Arkansas.

The Tigers could lose any of those games, but they could also win all of those games. If Missouri gets a win over Alabama, it'll give the Tigers the inside track over Tennessee for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

In other words, Price is spot on -- Tennessee fans need to root for Alabama this weekend, as painful as that may be.


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This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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