Alabama football defensive lineman Tim Smith couldn’t lie.

“It’s catchy,” Smith said of the song he and the rest of the Crimson Tide will hear countless times Saturday. “It’s a little bit catchy.”

“Rocky Top” has been playing all through Alabama’s facility this week, reminding players where they’ll be on Saturday. According to Smith, it started playing at 6 a.m. CT on Tuesday.

Other than the indoor facility during interviews with reporters, and the practice field where crowd noise was played, it was inescapable.

“Everywhere,” Smith said. “Weight room, training room. They tried to play in the locker room, but we turned it off. We’re cool on that.”

Saturday will be Alabama’s first return trip to Neyland Stadium since the 2022 season. That year, Tennessee broke a long streak of losses to the Crimson Tide, and the UT faithful rushed the field in Knoxville.

The matchup could carry huge stakes for the College Football Playoff field, as both teams are entering with a loss, and a second could significantly damage their case for inclusion, even in a 12-team field. The Volunteers beat Florida in overtime last week in Knoxville, bouncing back from a loss at Arkansas.

The graduate senior Smith said he told some of the Crimson Tide’s younger players to expect trash talking from the Volunteers.

“It’s gonna be a real disrespectful game,” Smith said. “But like I said, expect it and learn how to respond to it. That don’t have nothing to do with you. In my opinion, I told you, if somebody’s got to sit there and tell you you’re trash, they’re the trash. Like you’re clearly not working hard enough for me to be going back and forth with you… If you were working hard, you wouldn’t have the breath, nor energy or mindset to be talking about some, ‘Oh, you trash.’”

Alabama and Tennessee are scheduled to kick off at 2:45 p.m. CT Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The game will be aired on ABC.