Alabama and Tennessee have both lost the benefit of the doubt the way they have played the last two weeks, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum said Saturday.

The No. 11 Volunteers (5-1, 2-1) host the No. 7 Crimson Tide (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. With both teams having lost to unranked teams two weeks ago and then having struggled to beat unranked opponents last week, the “Third Saturday in October” is in effect a playoff elimination game, Finebaum said. “

“Both schools have been almost missing in action the last two weeks,” Finebaum said during Saturday’s edition of SEC Nation, live from Knoxville. “I realize they both won last week, but it was narrow victories and … they’re still stinging from the week before when Tennessee lost at Arkansas, and obviously the loss to Vanderbilt. … But tonight, it really is a survival game. The offense for Tennessee has been woeful. For Alabama, it’s a lack of discipline.

“So tonight, in a game like this, you hope both teams can pull it together. If Tennessee doesn’t get off to a fast start, they could be in for a very difficult day.”

Tim Tebow, the former Florida Heisman Trophy winner, agreed with his SEC Nation co-host’s viewpoint. He added that the loser of Saturday’s game will be in a “seat of desperation” relative to making the College Football Playoff.

“In this league it’s nice to just sometimes get through a Saturday where you get a win, but for both of these teams, it’s really disappointing wins,” Tebow said. “It’s hard to say that in this league, but it was. Alabama should have looked a lot better; Tennessee should have played a lot better.

“Both of them have the opportunity in front of them today. But the loser of this game, they’re in an absolute seat of desperation, because you don’t control your destiny after that. Can they still get in the playoffs? Probably. But you really have to believe you have to run the table after that. That’s why this Third Saturday of October today, it’s so crucial. I love that it’s not just a rivalry game, but this is really a college football playoff game.”

Roman Harper, the former Alabama and NFL safety who is also part of the SEC Now panel, said the feeling of “desperation” for the Crimson Tide and Volunteers, might have already begun.

“I think desperation is like right now; this pain starts today,” Harper said. “Alabama and Tennessee both are in desperate situations where they both need to get things cleaned up. And they’re in a race to improve, understanding what Tim said is totally correct — if you lose today, you’re probably done knowing that you have to try and run the table. You lost the wiggle room to lose any other games because of what you did two weeks ago with both of these teams.

“So, the desperation starts today when you get off the bus when you first walk into the stadium. That’s the mindset. That’s where you’ve got to be as a team, as a player individually. What are you doing to help, put your team in position to win this game?”

Alabama at Tennessee kicks off at 2:30 p.m., with television coverage on ABC.