Alabama and Tennessee Will Both Wear Home Jerseys on the Third Saturday in October: Crimson vs Orange for the First Time Since 1970

This is the best uniform news of the college football offseason and it is not particularly close. Alabama and Tennessee announced Wednesday that both teams will wear their home jerseys when they meet on the Third Saturday in October, in 2026 and again in 2027. Crimson against orange, no white anywhere on the field.

It has not happened since 1970.

What Was Announced

• October 17, 2026 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Tennessee in orange, Alabama in crimson.
• 2027 in Tuscaloosa, same arrangement with the venue flipped.
• The rivalry last had both teams in colored jerseys in 1970, before the modern convention of the road team wearing white took hold.

Why Color vs Color Is So Rare

The white road jersey is not an aesthetic choice so much as an inherited rule. NCAA rules require the home team to wear dark jerseys and the visiting team to wear white, and the home team has to get the visitor's agreement to do anything else. That single line of the rulebook is why nearly every game you watch is color against white.

Getting around it takes both athletic departments actively wanting the same thing, usually with a television partner and two equipment staffs involved. Most of the time somebody says no. The visiting team gets no competitive benefit, the white set is already made, and there is a real risk of two schools showing up in colors that muddy together on a broadcast.

Alabama and Tennessee do not have that last problem. Crimson and orange are far enough apart in hue that nothing blends, and both are saturated enough to survive a stadium under lights. This is close to the ideal pairing for the concept.

Why It Matters More Here Than Anywhere Else

Color vs color games are usually a novelty. This one is a restoration.

The Third Saturday in October is one of the oldest rivalries in the sport, and the visual memory of it comes from an era when both teams wore color, which is exactly what the announcement artwork leans on. Photographs of this game from the 1960s look nothing like the modern version, and the difference is not the equipment or the film stock. It is that the field had two colors on it instead of one.

Bringing that back for a rivalry with this much history is a smarter use of a uniform decision than yet another alternate. Nothing new had to be designed. Nobody had to invent a story. Both schools already own the two best-looking things they could put on the field, and for one Saturday they are going to wear them at the same time.

The Bottom Line

Two of the best uniforms in college football, on the same field, in a rivalry old enough to make it mean something, for the first time in 56 years. There is no design to grade here because nothing was designed. That is the point, and it is why this is better than almost any reveal we will cover this season.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Alabama wear crimson at Tennessee in 2026? Yes. Alabama will wear its crimson home jersey at Neyland Stadium on October 17, 2026, rather than its usual white road set.

When is the Third Saturday in October game in 2026? October 17, 2026, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. The 2027 meeting will be in Tuscaloosa, with both teams again in home jerseys.

When was the last time Alabama and Tennessee both wore color? 1970. The road team in the series has worn white every year since.

Why do road teams usually wear white? NCAA rules call for the home team in dark jerseys and the visiting team in white. A color vs color game requires the home team to obtain the visiting team's agreement, which is why it happens so rarely.

Is this a one-time thing? No. Both schools announced it for the 2026 and 2027 meetings.

Announcement artwork via Tennessee Athletics. ColorWay Sports is an independent design site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of Alabama, the University of Tennessee, or the SEC.