Alabama is currently riding a 15-game winning streak over Tennessee, the longest in the history of a rivalry that dates to 1901.

However, it’s far from the only lengthy streak in the “Third Saturday in October” rivalry. Both the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers have gone many years at a stretch without losing to the other.

Since the early 1970s, there have been five lengthy winning streaks for either Alabama or Tennessee. And they all had to begin with one victory.

Here are five “streak-starters” in the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry since 1971:

1. Alabama 32, Tennessee 15 (1971)

The Volunteers had won four straight over the Crimson Tide when they ran into an ambush at Birmingham’s Legion Field on Oct. 16, 1971. Alabama was 5-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country heading into the game, rolling behind a powerhouse offense in its first season running the wishbone. Paul “Bear” Bryant’s Alabama team ran for 283 yards against a Tennessee defense that was allowing just over 80 a game coming in, with Johnny Musso going for 115 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Terry Davis added a rushing touchdown and two passing, both to David Bailey. Tennessee, which came in 3-1 and ranked No. 14 under second-year coach Bill Battle (an Alabama graduate), turned the ball over eight times on four fumbles and four interceptions. Alabama went on to finish 11-1 and won the first of five straight SEC championships, while Tennessee won its final seven games to finish 10-2. The 1971 Alabama-Tennessee game set the tone for the rest of the decade-plus between the two rivals, as the Crimson Tide won 11 straight.

2. Tennessee 35, Alabama 28 (1982)

Johnny Majors lost his first five games against Alabama as Tennessee’s head coach, but finally broke through in a stunning upset at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Oct. 16, 1982. Bryant’s Crimson Tide was not only defending SEC champion, but was 5-0 and ranked No. 2 nationally after knocking off eventual national champion Penn State 42-21 in Birmingham the previous week. The Volunteers, meanwhile, were 2-2-1, with losses to Duke and Auburn and a tie vs. LSU. Alabama jumped on top 14-3 in the first half, but Tennessee then scored 32 of the next 39 points to surge ahead. Quarterback Alan Cockrell threw long touchdown passes to Willie Gault (52 yards) and Mike Miller (39), while Fuad Reveiz kicked four field goals. The back-breaker came seven minutes remaining, when Chuck Coleman ran 34 yards for a touchdown to put the Volunteers on top 35-21. Linnie Patrick’s 14-yard touchdown run made it a one-score game, but Mike Terry picked off Alabama’s Walter Lewis in the final seconds to preserve the victory. Tennessee fans tore down the goalposts in ecstasy after their first win against Alabama in 11 years. The loss was the beginning of the end for the Crimson Tide, which lost to LSU, Southern Miss and Auburn down the stretch to finish Bryant’s final season at 8-4. The Volunteers — who ended up 6-5-1 in 1982 — would win the next four in the rivalry.

3. Alabama 56, Tennessee 28 (1986)

The Crimson Tide had once again risen to No. 2 in the country by the time it played the Volunteers on Oct. 18, 1986, but this time it didn’t suffer an upset. As it did for much of that season, Alabama — 6-0 when it visited Neyland Stadium — rode to victory on the legs of Bobby Humphrey. The sophomore tailback had the best day of his career to that point, running for 217 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. It was redemption for Humphrey, who had fumbled twice in a 16-14 loss to Tennessee in Birmingham the previous season. The Crimson Tide rushed for 457 yards as a team, with Gene Jelks adding 89 yards and Bo Wright 83. Alabama’s 56 points were the most scored by either team in the rivalry until the Crimson Tide went off for 58 in 2017. Tennessee was just 2-3 entering the game, but rallied in the second half of the season to finish 7-5. Alabama lost three of its next five — to Penn State, LSU and Auburn — and ended up 10-3 after beating USC in the Aloha Bowl. That would be the last game for head coach Ray Perkins, who left after the season for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Crimson Tide would continue beating Majors and the Volunteers, however, with the streak reaching eight straight victories before a 17-17 tie in 1993.

4. Tennessee 41, Alabama 14 (1995)

Phillip Fulmer helped force Majors out in part because he couldn’t beat Alabama, but fared no better in his first two games against Gene Stallings’ Crimson Tide. In addition to the 1993 tie, the Volunteers also lost 17-13 in Knoxville in 1994. Tennessee’s 9-year winless streak against Alabama ended in emphatic fashion Oct. 14, 1995, a cool night at Birmingham’s Legion Field. Sophomore quarterback Peyton Manning threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Joey Kent on the game’s first play, and the Volunteers were off and running. Manning threw a second touchdown pass and ran for another in the first quarter alone as Tennessee jumped out to a 21-0 lead to essentially put the game away. He ended the night 20-for-29 for 301 yards with three touchdowns, while Jay Graham added a 75-yard touchdown run as part of a 496-yard night for the Volunteers. Tennessee, 5-1 and ranked No. 6 nationally coming into the game, won its next five games to finish 11-1. Alabama, 4-1 and ranked 11th, won its next four before falling to Auburn in the Iron Bowl and finishing 8-3 (the Crimson Tide was not eligible for a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions). Fulmer and Tennessee wouldn’t lose to Alabama again until 2002, with their streak reaching seven in a row.

5. Alabama 41, Tennessee 17 (2007)

Beginning with the 1995 rout in Birmingham, Fulmer and Tennessee won 10 of their next 12 over Alabama. There were plenty of changes in the “Third Saturday in October” rivalry during that time, the biggest being that it finally came to the Alabama campus beginning in 1999. The Crimson Tide also had five head coaches in that stretch, with Mike Shula fired after a 2006 season that included a 16-13 loss to the Volunteers in Knoxville. Nick Saban’s first Alabama team was 5-2 when it welcomed 4-2 and 20th ranked Tennessee to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 20, 2007. The day began with the stunning news that five Alabama players — including two starting offensive linemen — had been suspended in what would come to be known as the “Textbook Five” scandal. But it ended with the Crimson Tide’s biggest blowout over its rival since 1986. Alabama started the game with a successful onside kick, and John Parker Wilson enjoyed a career day with 363 yards passing and three touchdowns. The Crimson Tide lost its next four games before beating Colorado in the Independence Bowl to finish 7-6. The Volunteers reached the SEC championship game (losing to LSU), but edged Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl to end up 10-4. But to say the two rivals have taken divergent paths since would be an understatement. Alabama has not only won 15 straight vs. Tennessee, but has won six national championships and secured Saban’s legacy as the greatest coach in college football history. Tennessee cut ties with Fulmer two years later, and is on its sixth head coach in the last 15 years. Only now under second-year coach Josh Heupel are the Volunteers beginning to return to national prominence.

Will Saturday’s Alabama-Tennessee game in Knoxville — the first in which both teams will enter unbeaten since 1989 — end a long winning streak, or merely continue it?

Creg Stephenson is a sports writer for AL.com. He has covered college football for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @CregStephenson.