Beating Alabama Still Matters the Most Part 2

On New Year's Day, I wrote why beating Alabama is still matters most. In that post I showed the success of each team on their respective winning streaks. Today I will break the numbers down solely from a Tennessee perspective.

Since 1967, Tennessee is 18-32-1 against Alabama for a .363 winning percentage.

In the 18 seasons that Tennessee beat Alabama, the Vols overall record in those seasons was 171-44-5 for a .788 winning percentage. Tennessee won 5 SEC Championships and 1 National Championship during those 18 seasons. The Vols also appeared in 2 SEC Championship Games in which they did not win.

In the 33 seasons that Tennessee did not beat Alabama,  the Vols overall record in those seasons was 239-165-8 for a .589 winning percentage. Tennessee won 2 SEC Championships during those 33 seasons. The Vols also appeared in 1 SEC Championship Game in which they did not win.

When Tennessee beats Alabama they won a SEC Title about once every 3 seasons. When Tennessee loses to Alabama they won an SEC Title about once every 16 seasons.

While I understand that beating Florida and Georgia are important, beating Alabama still matters the most. History suggests that if Tennessee is good enough to beat Alabama, they are good enough to beat their SEC East rivals.

Beating Alabama Still Matters the Most

When the SEC went to divisions in 1992, divisional games became more important than the non-divisional games. Today a lot of Vol fans say beating Florida and even Georgia is more important than beating Alabama. For me, beating Alabama has always been more important.

Those that know the history of the Tennessee Alabama series know that it is a very streaky series. But what you may not know is what the overall success each team enjoyed while on those streaks. Since 1967 Tennessee is 18-32-1 against Alabama.  Below is the history of this series since 1967 and the overall success of each team during their respective streaks.

Tennessee won 4 in row from 1967 to 1970, the Vols won 83% of their games and Alabama won 60% of their games. Tennessee won 2 SEC championships, while Alabama won none.

Alabama won 11 in a row from 1971 to 1981, the Tide 88% of their games and The Vols won 61%. Alabama won 9 SEC championships and 4 national championships, while Tennessee did not win a SEC or National championship.

Tennessee won 4 in a row from 1982-1985, the Vols won 69% of their games compared Alabama's 65%. Tennessee won 1 SEC Championship, while the Tide did not win any.

Alabama was 8-0-1 against the Vols from 1986 to 1994. During this time Alabama won 79% of their games and Tennessee won 72%. Alabama won 2 SEC titles and 1 National title, while the Vols did win 2 SEC titles as well.

Tennessee went 10-2 against the Tide from 1995 to 2006. Tennessee won 78% of its games and the Tide won 59% of their games. The Vols won 2 SEC titles and 1 National Championship, while the Tide did  win 1 SEC title.

Alabama has now won 11 in row since 2007. During this time the Tide have won 86% of their games, while the Vols have managed to win 52% of their games. Alabama won 5 SEC titles and 4 National Championships over this span. You probably know Tennessee has not won a title during these years.

When Tennessee has enjoyed a winning streak against Alabama, Tennessee won 77% of their games, while Alabama won 60% of their games.   When Alabama enjoyed a winning streak against Tennessee, Alabama won 85% of their games and Tennessee won 61% of their games.

Here's what all these numbers tell me, that the team that is on a winning streak enjoys a high level of success, winning a combined 23 SEC Championships, while the team on the losing streak won just a combined 3 SEC Championships. The team on the losing streak wins about 60% of their games overall.

For Tennessee and Alabama winning The 3rd Saturday in October has always mattered the most and always will.