This week is why college football always wins, in spite of itself. No matter how much the people in charge try to screw it up, they cant fully ruin it. No matter how greedy the power brokers are, how heedless they are with money, how much they push around the fans, how rudderless the entire enterprise isthe sport always delivers. It gives us weeks like this.We are heading into one of the greatest October Saturdays in recent memory. Three matchups of undefeated teams. Two top-ten clashes. Major showdown games in every Power 5 conference. There are College Football Playoff implications. Conference championship implications. Heisman trophy implications. This is going to be big.The settings: massive stadiums in Knoxville and Ann Arbor; up-by-their-bootstraps venues in Fort Worth and Salt Lake City; the only indoor venue in the Power 5 even gets a star turn. The schedule is set for a noon-to-midnight feast, covering three time zones and featuring teams from Upstate New York to Los Angeles. Schedule your family visit to the pumpkin patch for a different day.For this upcoming October Saturday, we can shelve discussion of contract buyouts, realignment TV value and who is lying to whom. We can watch college football do what it always does: heal itself from all the self-inflicted wounds of the offseason. Lets go. Here is a Dash breakdown of the games you cannot afford to miss: Alabama-Tennessee. Time: 3:30 ET. Location: Neyland Stadium. Records: Alabama is 6-0, Tennessee is 5-0. Rankings: The Crimson Tide is No. 3 in the AP poll, the Volunteers are No. 6. Sunday Line: Alabama favored by 9.5. Lets just say this up front: the Volunteers should be favored. For the early line to favor Bama by more than a touchdown is a nod to history, consistency and the assumption that Bryce Young will be 100% Saturdaybut it doesnt take into account which team has played better over the course of this season. The opportunity hasnt been this ripe for Tennessee in the 21st century. The last time the Vols were undefeated going into the Alabama game was 1998, when they won their last national championship.When Alabama and Tennessee met last October West Shuler Jersey, the Tide won 52-24, largely due to a 28-point fourth quarter performance.Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORKWho has more to prove: Tennessee, clearly. Josh Heupel is fast-tracking the rebuilding job, but this is the game that will provide a measuring stick for whether Tennessee is truly back.
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