The Alabama Crimson Tide takes on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday in one of the biggest editions of The Third Saturday in October fans in Tuscaloosa have seen in a long time.

Kalen DeBoer seeks both revenge and his first cigar of his tenure as head coach after losing in Knoxville last year. Not to mention a fourth consecutive ranked matchup for the Tide as they try to continue the momentum they’ve started to build over the last three weeks.

With a quarterback in Ty Simpson playing as well as anyone else in the country and very much in the conversation, DeBoer has to feel good about his chances lining up against anyone they face. For Simpson though, a Tennessee native before arriving to Alabama, this one is personal.

Simpson spoke about what it means to be playing in this game after growing up watching it every year and dreaming of playing in it one day. After three years of watching the game from the bench, the gunslinger finally gets his moment to face off against the school from his home state.

“I’m very excited, I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid,” Simpson says.

“I grew up watching this game, and I’m just blessed to play another SEC game, another ranked opponent at home, so I’m just very excited…growing up, how special it was for both parties and being from Tennessee…what a great tradition with the cigars and always being the Third Saturday in October. This is what college football is all about, this is what SEC football is all about.”

Simpson will get his chance to earn his first cigar as a starting quarterback under the very bright lights of Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday night.

If he plays the way he’s been playing as of late, he’s going to have a great shot at doing just that.