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The biggest game at Neyland Stadium in six years will be played Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn. It has the potential to be Tennessee’s most important in more than two decades.

For the first time since 1989, No. 3 Alabama and No. 6 Tennessee will meet as undefeated teams. The long-dormant Volunteers, sporting their highest ranking in 17 years, are a trendy pick to upset, or at least cover against, the long-dominant Crimson Tide. Alabama has not announced whether quarterback Bryce Young, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, will return after he missed the Crimson Tide’s close call last week against Texas A&M.

During the Nick Saban era, it has often been popular to pick against the least-loved coach in the country when a potential contender emerges as if it might will Alabama’s demise into existence and introduce much-needed new blood into the title picture into existence.

Rarely does it work.

Saban’s teams haven’t had poor showings in back-to-back games in eight years. Saban is 15-0 against Tennessee. Young should be back. And most importantly, Tennessee hasn’t proven it belongs on this stage.

The Vols are two years removed from a 3-7 season and 21 years removed from their most recent top-10 finish. They haven’t beaten a top-15 team in four years. They went 0-4 against such teams last season, including a 52-24 loss to Alabama.

This season, Tennessee has no wins against teams that are currently ranked. It needed overtime to beat a mediocre Pittsburgh team that was playing its backup quarterback. The Vols surrendered 453 yards passing to Florida’s Anthony Richardson — a quarterback who has averaged 146 yards in five other games — in a five-point win.

In 2016, the ninth-ranked Vols welcomed the Tide to Knoxville and lost 49-10, before ending the season with four losses and a trip to the Music City Bowl.

A lot has changed since then. Head coach Josh Heupel and quarterback Hendon Hooker have restored hope to a program with the potential to return to power in the future. But not yet. Not against Saban. Not against Young. Not against Alabama (-7.5).

The Mountaineers are 0-3 against teams with winning records this season. Their 106th-ranked defense — which has allowed more than 35 points per game — will be a welcome sight for the reigning Big 12 champs, who’ve had nearly two weeks to prepare.

Arch Manning may have trouble unseating Quinn Ewers as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback next year if Ewers keeps replicating his 289-yard, four-touchdown performance from last week in his return from injury against Oklahoma. The Cyclones — 9-2 against the spread as double-digit underdogs under coach Matt Campbell — and their eighth-ranked defense should at least be able to limit the damage.

Neither coach should brag about his team’s undefeated record, particularly Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, who scheduled the softest possible non-conference schedule, but whose team failed to flex its muscle against a string of lower-tier Big Ten teams. Penn State’s James Franklin has won three of the past five matchups (losing by four last year) and the Nittany Lions’ fifth-ranked run defense will keep Wolverines running back Blake Corum quiet in a low-scoring game.

Illini coach Bret Bielema’s fourth-ranked defense deserves more respect at home. I can’t imagine how much more the Gophers will get if they finally beat a team with a winning record.

Coach Bryan Harsin is only 45, so he has plenty of time to turn things around at Auburn. Perhaps he’ll find more success in the U.S. Senate. It’s bound to go well for at least one former Auburn coach.

The Bulldogs’ lone win surpassing this spread was against Oregon. Lower stakes bring out the worst in the Bulldogs, who have covered one of their past six games as home favorites and are 0-8 against the spread when favored by at least 40 points under coach Kirby Smart.

The battle for first place in the Big 12 will be a shootout, with numerous swings of momentum. When it is over, quarterback Spencer Sanders and the more battle-tested Cowboys will pick up another key win (they have covered six straight on the road) against the unproven Horned Frogs.

It’d be nice to know if Wolfpack starting quarterback Devin Leary will return from a shoulder injury, but the defense that posted a second-half shutout of Florida State and rallied from a 14-point deficit will give the ACC’s second-best team a chance to win, even if Leary is out.

The Razorbacks were lost without quarterback KJ Jefferson last week. The former top-10 team won’t lose a fourth straight game if he is back under center, as expected.

In the battle of dual-threat quarterbacks, Florida’s Anthony Richardson (seven interceptions, 55.9 completion percentage) is far more likely than the Tigers’ Jayden Daniels (one interception, 68.8 completion percentage) to give away a coin-flip game.

The Tigers have won six straight games in the series, last decided by single-digits in 2016. Wake Forest managed to claim a win in Tallahassee on Oct. 1 without bringing a defense. Clemson will have an even easier time with a group allowing 1.9 yards per carry.

An illegal motion penalty in the final minutes at Ole Miss and an injury to quarterback Will Levis resulted in undefeated Kentucky losing two straight games. If Levis is back, the Wildcats will look like a top-10 team again. If not, Hail State.

Following five double-digit wins seasons in David Shaw’s first six years as coach, the Cardinal are on pace for their third losing season in the past four years and have lost 11 straight games to FBS opponents. Another will come against the Fighting Irish, but Shaw’s team has still shown impressive fight despite one of the country’s toughest schedules.

Coach Lincoln Riley’s USC honeymoon has to end at some point. The Trojans haven’t been as dominant as their undefeated record suggests — See: the last-minute win at Oregon State — and their subpar run defense (4.6 yards per carry allowed) will struggle against the reigning conference champs, who are averaging nearly 200 yards rushing per game. The Utes haven’t lost a home game in front of their fans in four years.

Best bets: Oklahoma State, Clemson, Kentucky
This season: 41-46-3
2014-21 record: 1,030-970-19