Tennessee ends Alabama heartache with celebration for the ages

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—On this, the one hundred and fifth installment of the Third Saturday in October, the scent of victory smacked you within the face. It burned the nostrils, stuffed the senses, watered the eyes. It rose like a fog over an orange-splashed discipline.

The cigars surfaced in all styles and sizes. Lengthy and thin, brief and fats. Lit and unlit (however largely lit). Some have been wrapped in gold bands, others in brown or black. Women and men smoked them. The older technology smoked them and the youthful technology smoked them, too.

One man using atop the uprooted aim posts—hauled out of the stadium by followers like a glittering white casket—smoked a cigar, as nicely.

It was a celebration for the ages after Tennessee smoked Alabama for the primary time in 15 years in an exhilarating, down-to-the-wire 52–49 win. And the Vols and their followers smoked ’em off the sector, deep into the October night time.

All of it unfolded after one of many extra epic slugfests within the lengthy historical past of this sequence—a slobberknocker of offensive soccer on this new age of the game, two quarterbacks captaining high-octane offenses and duking it out on a 70-degree day amid the Smoky Mountains.

Regardless of all of the yards (1,136 between them), it took a kick, of all issues, to ship the Volunteers to their first 6–0 begin since 1998. Chase McGrath, a veteran switch kicker from USC, booted a 40-yard discipline as time expired that had simply sufficient distance to barely hurdle over the crossbar. It didn’t matter that Alabama’s Byron Younger burst by way of the middle of the offensive line and obtained a few fingers on the ball. McGrath’s wobbly duck of a kick elicited one of many wildest discipline stormings you’ll ever see.

An orange sea wave of scholars crashed onto the Neyland Stadium discipline and overran a band of safety officers to take down the aim posts, swiftly carrying them out of the smoke-filled stadium and into the booze-splattered streets of town.

“The followers deserve this,” says Ryan Alpert, one in all Tennessee’s deputy athletic administrators. “It was a very long time coming.”

The final time Tennessee beat Alabama, a person named Mike Shula was teaching the Tide and Phillip Fulmer was main the Vols. Seven dropping seasons and 5 coaches later, coach Josh Heupel, an offensive whiz and former Oklahoma quarterback, did the unthinkable—scoring 52 factors on a Nick Saban–coached soccer crew for the primary time in 26 years. (It’s a must to return to Saban’s days at Michigan State for such a feat, as top-ranked Nebraska scored 55 on the Spartans.)

Quarterback Hendon Hooker shined in an outing that would thrust him to the highest spot amongst Heisman Trophy favorites—proper alongside his favourite goal, Jalin Hyatt, who caught 5 touchdowns and completed with 207 receiving yards. No receiver had completed with three landing passes and greater than 100 yards on a Saban-led Alabama crew earlier than Saturday.

It’s one other startling statistic in a recreation stuffed with them; extra proof that Tennessee’s scorching offensive begin was removed from an aberration. The Vols look right here to remain. “That is just the start,” Heupel stated afterward.

Through the on-field celebration, Heupel was reminded of how particular this rivalry is to Tennessee followers. He glanced up towards the stands to seek for the cigar smoke. “This was the primary recreation I heard about after I obtained right here,” he stated.

That is an inconceivable place for a program bursting out of greater than a decade of doldrums. In January 2021, Tennessee fired a 3rd straight coach, didn’t have an athletic director and had misplaced 10 starters to the switch portal. Roughly 21 months later, the Vols took down the Tide (6–1).

The individuals who led the cost—Heupel and athletic director Danny White, each beforehand at UCF—shared cigars within the locker room. They smoked them lengthy sufficient that Heupel didn’t emerge for his information convention till virtually 90 minutes after the sport ended.

How was the stogie? “It was dang good, man,” Heupel stated with a smile.

In a confidence-inducing transfer, a number of entities equipped cigars to the crew earlier than the sport, together with Jay Cutler, the previous Vanderbilt quarterback who owns a cigar firm primarily based in Nashville. Tennessee athletic officers have been assured sufficient in Heupel’s crew that they ready a plan for a possible field-storming so gamers and employees have been whisked away safely.

It was a madhouse afterward, as tens of hundreds flooded the sector, lots of them puffing lit cigars.

“Smoke ’em if you happen to obtained ’em!” yelled one man, blowing out a plume of smoke towards the chilly night time sky.

“I can’t imagine we received,” exclaimed one other.

“I believed he missed the kick,” stated a 3rd.

Heupel’s squad practically folded down the stretch. The Vols’ bugaboo—they sport one of many nation’s worst passing defenses—festered within the second half. They blew a 28–10 first-half lead and wanted landing receptions from Hooker-to-Hyatt of 36, 11, 60, 78 and 13 yards—the ultimate to tie the rating with 4 minutes, 23 seconds left.

The Tide marched 43 yards, however kicker Will Reichard missed a 50-yard discipline aim to provide Tennessee possession at its 32-yard line with 15 seconds left. Hooker discovered Ramel Keyton for 18 yards after which threw a dagger to Bru McCoy for 27 extra to arrange McGrath’s kick with two ticks left. He’d missed an extra-point earlier within the recreation. Approached by Heupel earlier than the kick, he ushered the coach away.

“He gave me a glance, ‘Get away from me, I’m good,’” Heupel stated.

Because the kick fell over the crossbar—good by not more than 5 yards—Alabama’s survival hopes have been dashed. The Tide received video games at Texas of their season opener and  in opposition to Texas A&M final week by a mixed 5 factors. Saban’s membership seemed sloppy once more Saturday, amassing a whopping 17 penalties and posting huge protection misplays within the secondary.

In a wild postgame scene, Saban was ushered off the sector by safety, and the Alabama crew had hassle exiting the stadium. Officers held back Tennessee fans as gamers loaded the bus. Again on the sector, greater than two hours after the sport ended, Vols followers climbed atop what was left of the aim posts—a 12-foot excessive, orange beam jutting from the sector. They swung from the highest of it and signed their names onto its exterior. Safety officers snapped images of them, simply hours faraway from their failed try to guard the pipes.

Exterior of the stadium, it was mayhem. Greater than 100 boats, a part of the Vol Navy, partied into the night time as they floated on the Tennessee River. And people aim posts? They made their manner down Cumberland Avenue and into downtown, the place a smoke hung over this city.

It was the scent of victory.

Extra Faculty Soccer Protection:

• Michigan Rout Reinforces Huge Ten Pecking Order
• Saban Rips Alabama Protection After Loss to Tennessee
• Remembering Tennessee’s 2009 Loss to Bama