By Ashwin Aggarwal

If you have ever watched a game of college football in your life, you have probably heard of Nick Saban. Saban is one of the most dominant college football coaches of all time. He currently coaches the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide.

Nick Saban. Photo credit: Aaron Shuttles via The Athletic.

Since 2008, his second year at Alabama, Saban’s team has always been ranked #1 at some point each season. He has six national championships with the Crimson Tide, and prior to his arrival, the program had never had a Heisman Trophy winner on the team. Now they have four. 

Now that you’ve heard about how much Saban wins, let’s talk about how he recently lost.

The Tennessee Volunteers might have had it the worst out of all the college football teams that Saban and Alabama have crushed over the years. The two teams play annually, so this rivalry is more heated than you can imagine. Before this year, the Vols were 0-15 against the Crimson Tide since Saban took over as head coach. 

The third Saturday of October haunts Vols fans throughout the nation. On this day, every year, Tennessee fans have become accustomed to sadness, rage, and disappointment due to a recurring loss to Alabama. However, October 15 this year marks the day when the Tennessee Volunteers beat the Alabama Crimson Tide with a game-winning kick from Vols kicker Chase McGrath.

The game began strong for the Volunteers, as they attained an early lead of 21-10 in the first quarter, and 28-10 entering the second half. Fans everywhere were excited to see that the daunting task of dethroning Alabama was becoming a possibility. Saban, a man known for wanting perfection, was outraged at how poorly his team was playing in the first half. This was the first time in a while that his defense had been utterly dismantled like this. This was the first time his defense had given up at least 21 points in the first quarter since he played the 2019 LSU Tigers, a team that is widely considered to have the best college offense of all time.

However, wide smiles from Vols fans slowly turned into frowns of concern as Alabama slowly started to even the score. Alabama quarterback and 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young led the Crimson Tide to a one-point lead in the third quarter. With a score of 35-34, college football fans everywhere were on the edge of their seats. After a 78-yard catching touchdown and a successful two-point conversion, the Vols regained a lead and were leading by 7. However, the Crimson Tide marched down and scored 7 more points in just 10 plays. 

But then disaster struck. A mishap during a Tennessee handoff led to an Alabama defensive lineman scooping and scoring 7 more points from just 11 yards out. To make matters even worse, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker threw an interception the following play.

However, what seemed to be a blessing had occurred. There was a penalty flag on the field.

A pass interference was called on the defense, and instead of a turnover, it was now a first down for the Volunteers. Hooker then threw a touchdown pass to receiver Jalin Hyatt, which was now his fifth catching touchdown of the night (a new school record). With the extra point kick secured, the game was tied at 49 points.

It was now Alabama’s ball. 

After failing to convert a third down with 20 seconds left, Alabama kicker Will Reichard lined up to take a 50-yard field goal.

Wide right.

He missed it.

Tennesee kicker Chase McGrath drilled the field goal as time expired, giving the Vols the victory over Alabama. Following the game-sealing kick, the green grass of Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee became a sea of orange. Fans flooded the field, and celebrations ensued throughout the city of Knoxville all night long.

Neyland Stadium. Photo credit: user Neomrbungle via Wikimedia Commons.

Tennessee fans wasted no time showing their excitement and fervor for the rivalry. Fans tore down the goalposts and marched them out of the stadium, through campus, through downtown Knoxville, and finally threw the goalposts into the Tennessee River. Throwing the goalposts in the river is a tradition to celebrate a victory in Knoxville.

Avid Tennessee fan Everett Hatfield (‘24) recalled, “For basically my whole life, I’ve been watching Tennessee and wearing orange. But they have been so mediocre for my whole life that it was hard to even imagine, and all I felt was pure joy. Finally beating [Alabama] for the first time in my life and to see Coach Heupel and [the Tennessee football team] return to the top of college football, where they belong.” 

Tennessee fans enjoying a football game. Photo credit: Everett Hatfield.

Hatfield is one of many Tennessee football fans that will forever remember this game. 

1998 was the last time the Volunteers were 6-0 to start the season and the last time they won the national championship. Tennessee’s victory led Tennesee’s rank in the College Football rankings to rise from sixth place to fifth the following week, but on the other hand, Alabama fell from third to eighth. Alabama’s situation was nerve-racking for Crimson Tide fans, because if Alabama lost another game in the regular season, their hopes of winning the National Championship would be over. However, Tennessee and Alabama weren’t the only teams affected by this historic game. Clemson, Michigan, USC, and Oklahoma State all moved up in rank after the game. 

Allowing fans to cause mayhem did not come without repercussions for Tennesee football. The NCAA fines schools for allowing fans to take apart goalposts after games. This is a safety hazard, as there has been a history of injuries during these victory stampedes. The NCAA fines Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools $50,000 for the first offense, $100,000 for the second, and $250,000 for the third. This was Tenessee’s second offense.

Tennessee is using the fine as a way to fire up its fanbase. The school is accepting donations to help pay off the fine. They released a digital fundraiser in which fans are able to donate $16 in honor of breaking the losing streak against Alabama, $52.49 to match the final score of the game, and $1,019.15 to match Neyland Stadium’s seating capacity. When asked about getting fined by the NCAA, University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd stated that “It doesn’t matter, we’ll do this every year.” 

Featured image credit: Brian Lynn via Athlon Sports.