The 5 most memorable moments from Tennessee Vols' win over Alabama
The Tennessee Vols' epic 52-49 win against Alabama — a true instant classic — was full of enough memorable moments to last a lifetime. After re-watching the game late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, I tried to come up with what I believed were the five most memorable moments from the monumental win. It was tough […]
The Tennessee Vols' epic 52-49 win against Alabama — a true instant classic — was full of enough memorable moments to last a lifetime.
After re-watching the game late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, I tried to come up with what I believed were the five most memorable moments from the monumental win.
It was tough to narrow it down to just five, but here's my best shot at it.
These aren't in any particular order by the way — there's no way I could rank all these incredible moments.
1. Mad Nick Saban
In the second quarter, with the Vols leading 21-10, Alabama's Quandarrius Robinson for some reason touched the ball after it was punted by Tennesese. The Vols recovered the live ball which led to a Nick Saban meltdown.
Anytime you can make Saban mad, you're doing something right.
2. The drive to get into FG range
Milliseconds after Alabama missed a field goal that would've given the Tide the lead with 15 seconds to play, I realized the Vols had a shot to win the game.
Tennessee had 15 seconds and two timeouts to go about 45 yards. Tough, but doable.
And Hendon Hooker did it. Hooker looked like Patrick Mahomes as he quickly navigated Tennessee down the field into field goal range. The highlight was an impressive catch by wide receiver Bru McCoy with two seconds left on the clock.
That throw and catch, in that situation and against Alabama, is as good as it gets in college football.
3. The FG to win the game
The game-winning field goal has to be on here, right?
Chase McGrath's kick — which might have been tipped (no one seems to know) — had just enough on it to clear the crossbar and give the Vols the win. It was a memorable way to end Tennessee's 15-year winless streak against Alabama.
I thought CBS Sports' Brad Nessler described the kick perfectly — it wasn't pretty, but it was beautiful.
4. Jalin Hyatt's 5 touchdowns
I've never seen anything like what we saw from Jalin Hyatt against Alabama.
6 receptions, 207 yards, and five touchdowns against one of the best teams in the nation.
Completely insane. A performance that will live forever in Tennessee lore.
Hyatt now has 10 touchdowns on the season. He's only three away from tying the single-season record at Tennessee (13 by Marcus Nash) and the Vols still have six regular season games left.
5. Playing Dixieland Delight after the win
Alright, I lied — this might be my favorite moment from the win.
Playing Dixieland Delight after the win — a song about Tennessee that Alabama fans love to sing at Bama games — was an incredible move by UT.
I campaigned all week for this to be done on Saturday. And the fact that UT listened (not necessarily to me — plenty of fans called for this as well), shows that this athletic department cares about what the fan base has to say.
Heupel being handed that box of cigars while Dixieland Delight was playing is an iconic college football moment that I'll absolutely remember forever. Well done, Tennessee.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
