Stakes of game higher than the actual rivalry

Simeon Castille is as Crimson as they come. The senior defensive back grew up with a unique perspective on Alabama's main rivals because his father, Jeremiah, played in Tuscaloosa from 1979 to 1982.

But when he was asked to put the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry into perspective this week, it didn't sound as if Castille were lending any more credence to the "Third Saturday in October" than, say, to Houston or Florida State.

"I guess everybody's just more excited," Castille half-questioned with a shrug. "I know I am."

Maybe it's another one of first-year coach Nick Saban's tricks to downplay big games.

The sounds coming from the Thomas-Drew practice facility have been air horns screeching and players grunting — not the playing of "Rocky Top."

There has been almost no talk of the victory cigar or past games immortalized in Daniel Moore paintings.

"This has been a big game for a lot of years. I think sometimes when you live through these things, you really get the real sense of what it's like," Saban said. "I could stand here and say I know, right? But until you kind of live it, then you really find out what it's like."

With Alabama (5-2, 3-1 SEC) and Tennessee (4-2, 2-1) fighting for their respective conference championships, the stakes of the game probably outweigh the actual rivalry.

Here are the issues that face the Crimson Tide as it gets ready for the Vols.

Getting to the quarterback: With nine sacks in the past two games — and 14 total — the Crimson Tide has solved this issue that plagued it before Houston. So we shouldn't be talking about it. Right? Wrong.

The Volunteers have given up a total of two sacks all season.

Quarterback Erik Ainge isn't the most nimble passer, but he is quick enough to avoid pass rush and gets the ball away in a hurry. Tennessee also does a good job of protecting him.

"They just throw different things at you," said linebacker Darren Mustin. "Ainge, he'll read you, and shift to where you're coming. We have to do a good job of not showing what we're doing. We have to disguise our blitzes and not tell him when and where we're coming."

Stopping Lucas Taylor: So Tennessee's Taylor leads all SEC receivers in yards. You know what that means, right? He is a game-breaker.

Taylor averages 103 yards per game and 15.1 yards per catch.

At 6-foot-0, he's not exactly tall, but he can go after the ball, catch it and make things happen after the catch.

The native of Carencro, La., carries on a long tradition of Vols playmakers at the receiver position, from Stanley Morgan, Willie Gault, Alvin Harper, Peerless Price to Robert Meachem and now to him.

Against a defense that has given up its fair share of big plays, stopping Taylor will be at a premium.

Earn the money: When Alabama hired Nick Saban at $4 million per year, it probably didn't envision losing to Tennessee with the same regularity that former coach Mike Shula did. Or Mike DuBose, or in some ways, Dennis Franchione.

Since 1995, Alabama is 2-10 against the Vols..

During his five-year stint at LSU, Saban ran up a 2-1 record against the Vols, which included some memorable games.

Who could forget the 2001 SEC championship game, when Saban's LSU team stopped the then No. 2-ranked Vols from making it to the national championship game?

What about the 2000 LSU team that beat Tennessee in overtime one week after losing to UAB?

"It's a big game for them. It's a big game for us," Saban said. "It's an SEC game. It's a great traditional, national rivalry that we certainly want to play well in and do a good job in and help our players have the best chance to be successful."