The Third Saturday in October between Alabama and Tennessee is one of the best rivalries in all of college football, and of course is famously marked by the winning team and fans smoking a victory cigar.

The cigar tradition dates back at least 60 years and has become a staple of the rivalry. For quarterback Jalen Milroe, while this will be his first start against Tennessee, he is no stranger to the ritual, serving as Bryce Young’s backup in the 2021 beatdown of Tennessee where fans lit up their cigars during the fourth quarter.

“That’s like a cherry on top, having that cigar at the end of the game,” Milroe. “We’ve gotta take care of the little things before the game, but that’s something to be excited about for sure.”

Head coach Nick Saban also had a classic quote this week on whether or not he smokes a victory cigar after beating Tennessee (he is 15-1 against the Vols) on the SEC Media Teleconference:

“I guess it’s fun when you get the opportunity to smoke a cigar,” he said. “I don’t smoke, so I just kind of chew on one for a little bit. I think games like this that have sort of special innuendos that go with them, it’s probably good for the players. It’s probably good for the players’ relationships with each other to do things like that. I don’t think there’s anything bad about it.”

Alabama will look to start a winning streak Saturday against Tennessee after the Volunteers snapped Alabama’s 15-straight last season in Knoxville. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. The game is televised on CBS.