Third Saturday in October loser is about to go to a very dark place: Who could it be?

I would not want to be in the locker of the losing team after the Third Saturday in October. While Georgia playing Texas in Austin may be the more intriguing SEC game from a national perspective, pay very close attention to what happens in Knoxville during the slate of games right before that. Although Alabama and Tennessee both enter play at 5-1 on the year and 2-1 in SEC play, the vibes aren't high at either place.

The Crimson Tide lost at Vanderbilt and were pushed to the brink at home by South Carolina last week. Which meant that Alabama fell from the No. 1 team in the land after winning a barn burner at home vs. Georgia after their bye a few weeks ago. A loss to Tennessee at Neyland may put the Crimson Tide on the precipice of being eliminated from the College Football Playoff entirely.

As for Tennessee, the Volunteers have not looked the same since entering halftime vs. Oklahoma in Norman several weeks ago. The Sooners came back to make it a game, but Tennessee did not seem overly concerned about that. After their Week 5 bye, the Vols overlooked Arkansas in Fayetteville and lost. They then followed that up by holding on for dear life vs. a reeling Florida team in overtime.

Both SEC rivals have not played well the past two weeks and do not want to make it three in a row.

Third Saturday in October loser may be facing playoff elimination already

Right now, Alabama opens as a 2.5-point road favorite over Tennessee for this year's rendition of the Third Saturday in October. That feels about right, and I will probably end up going with Alabama to win the critical rivalry game when I make my picks as part of Just Like Novocaine on Thursday's episode of False Start. However, I am not exactly brimming with confidence about Alabama either.

The biggest reason why I think it's going to be Alabama who wins in Knoxville is that I trust Jalen Milroe to make a play more than Nico Iamaleava. Milroe is a ton of fun, but he has been inherently reckless with the football since playing Georgia. As for Iamaleava, I am afraid we have anointed him far too soon. He was a blue-chipper coming out of high school, just like another quarterback we anointed prematurely.

No, I think there is still a chance for Iamaleava to avoid the fate of one D.J. Uiagalelei, but he has not looked like anything close to a high-end SEC starting quarterback since conference play commenced. I was banking on him being better in Josh Heupel's system, but the game is just not slowing down for the first-year starter. Plus, Kalen DeBoer has more big game experience as well.

And that is the other thing I would be concerned about for the losing team: How will the respective fanbase handle their contending team's underperforming ways, and how much of that will fall on the head coach? DeBoer is brand-new to the job, so maybe he gets some slack. As for Heupel, this game is at home, Alabama is vulnerable, and you have to take advantage of the situation at hand.

Ultimately, whoever gets to 6-1 will be in great shape to get to Atlanta. Alabama does have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Georgia. Tennessee will play the Dawgs later. As for the loser who falls to 5-2, one more loss probably knocks you out. Georgia and Vanderbilt become must-wins for Tennessee. Alabama may not be able to split with LSU and Missouri, as 9-3 mark would be incredibly borderline.

There is a chance that the vibes in the losing team's locker room will be the worst across the SEC.