Heroes on defense and offense deliver an epic 24-17 victory over the Crimson Tide
As it was two years ago, Alabama was vanquished in Neyland Stadium. The Volunteer Faithful, many puffing cigars, flooded the field. Within minutes both goalposts had come down.
“The third Saturday in October,” said UT Coach Josh Heupel after the game. “College football is as good as it gets. The fans. Defensively, an elite performance, controlling the line. Offensively, not good early, but I love a lot of what I saw. In a prize fight you have to answer the bell. It was another great night on Rocky Top.”
The Crimson Tide came in 5-1 and ranked No. 7, having beaten No. 1 Georgia 41-34, then lost 40-35 to Vanderbilt for the first time since 1984. UT, also 5-1, stood at No. 11, the week after a 23-17 overtime victory over Florida and two weeks after a painful 19-14 upset loss to Arkansas.
Workhorse running back Dylan Sampson had a signature 20-yard run on UT’s first drive but fumbled on the Bama 18. “I put it behind me,” said Sampson after the game. “I had to be a leader for my team. You gotta be able to deal with yourself first before I try to lead other people. I know my teammates. I know how to approach different people. I trust in my blocks up front. It’s about lowering the pad level and the will to get in the end zone.”
On Bama’s ensuing drive, on a third-and-one Bama quarterback Jalen Milroe broke though the line and would have scampered for a touchdown but for the arm of safety Will Brooks, who reached out and tripped Milroe up. “I saw him run through the gap,” said Brooks, a walk-on senior from Birmingham. “I knew no one else was behind me, so I dove and I tried to swipe his leg.”
UT’s defense forced Bama to punt. After UT went three-and-out, Bama drove to the three-yard line. Milroe threw to receiver Ryan Williams in the right corner of the end zone, but Jermod McCoy leapt up, extended his left arm and snatched the ball. He landed four yards deep in the end zone as Williams fell away from him. McCoy looked around and sprinted out of the end zone down the left sideline, scampering 58 yards to the Bama 46. “He was playing the game he plays,” said Heupel. “It changes the way the game is played from that point forward.”
UT’s drive ended with Max Gilbert’s 53-yard field goal try, wide to the right.
Early in the second quarter, Milroe passed five yards to Williams in the end zone to put Bama up 7-0. On the next drive, Iamaleava ran to his left and, while being tackled, extended himself to attempt a backwards pass to Samson. His body laid out as he hit the turf hard, Nico sat out a play –– long enough for backup QB Gaston Moore to loft a long ball to Bru McCoy on the right sideline that was picked off by Bama strong safety Malachi Moore. Iamaleava’s body slam was not serious. “It woke me up a little bit,” he said after the game.
A 14-yard sack of Milroe by defensive end Dominic Bailey plus a five-yard intentional-grounding lagniappe forced a Bama punt. On UT’s next drive, Bama linebacker Que Robinson hit Nico’s arm on a pass toward McCoy that fluttered into the arms of cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe on the Bama three.
After UT’s defense once again forced a punt, UT’s ensuing drive ended with a 50-yard miss to the right. Bama’s subsequent drive was contained by outstanding tackles from edge rusher James Pearce Jr., defensive ends Tyre West and Dominic Bailey, defensive back Boo Carter, and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott. Bama kicker Graham Nicholson’s 54-yard attempt fell short.
At the half, UT was down 7-0. Iamaleava had been generally inaccurate on his passes and had overthrown receivers open deep. “I missed a shot to Squirrel,” Iamaleava admitted in postgame interviews. “If I hit that, it gets our offense going.”
“At halftime nobody blinks an eye,” said Heupel afterward. “There is belief, confidence, and trust in one another.”
Midway through the third quarter, UT drive included Sampson runs of 13 yards up the middle and 36 yards to the right, a 27-yard run by Nico, a handy pass interference call to the Bama 2, and Sampson’s two-yard plunge to tie the score at 7-7.
Bama’s 10-play drive ended in a 35-yard field goal to put the Tide up 10-7.
With 1:42 left in the third quarter with UT at its own 42, Iamaleava rolled right and, under pressure, flipped a nifty pass 35 yards to Dont’e Thornton Jr. on the right sideline, which he ran another 20 yards to the Bama three. Sampson punched it in to take the lead 14-10.
Bama answered with its own TD early in the fourth quarter to go up 17-14.
With 8:35 to go, UT started on its own 46. An Iamaleava five-yard scamper and a holding call put the ball on the 39, whence Sampson carried the ball four times in a row for 23 yards to the 16. On the next play Chris Brazzell II ran for the right corner of the end zone. Iamaleava laid the ball up and Brazzell laid himself out to make a diving catch in the end zone to put UT up 21-17.
Bama’s next drive was stymied by Milroe’s two-yard tackle for loss by Pearce and linebacker Jeremiah Telander.
As Bama was trying to drive for a winning TD, Crimson Tide running back Kendrick Law heard a word or two from UT defensive back Boo Carter that made him turn around and throw a punch at Carter’s helmet. Carter swung back but missed, and linebacker Arion Carter quickly ushered him away. “I had to grab him,” said Carter afterward. “He’s a young player, as I am. I said, ‘We gotta play the next down.’” The personal foul penalty made it fourth and 22 on the 18. Bama got only 14 yards on a short pass to Justice Haynes. UT took over, ran Samson three times, and Gilbert nailed a 41-yard field goal to put UT up 24 -17.
Bama’s last-chance drive began on the 25 with 1:24 to play. Milroe aimed for Williams slanting from left to right, but safety Brooks stepped in front of him and grabbed it. “I saw the quarterback double-pump for a second and I went and got it.”
“I seen him break on the ball,” said Carter. “I thought, ‘He’s gonna get that.’ I wouldn’t want anyone else behind me.”
“A journeyman,” lauded Heupel. “He invests every single day and reaps the rewards. A special player but a special young man.”
“Right here,” said Carter, gesturing to Brooks at his left at the interview table, “is one of the most unselfish people you’ll ever meet.”
“He never takes the opportunity for granted,” said Sampson, who ended up with 139 yards and two TDs. “He’s always in there looking at the film. You can trust him. He will always do his job. Our defense is giving us a lot of confidence. Having a stout defense like that, it does something for us. We love each other. It’s a real connection in the locker room.”
Many Vols for Life were on hand for the Bama game, which the current players appreciated. While coach Josh Heupel was speaking to the press, Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints popped his smiling face through the curtains into the interview room. “AK!” exclaimed one wag.
Receiver Bru McCoy had six catches for 80 yards. Nico went 14 of 17 for 194 yards and one TD. The defense rattled and hurried Bama’s Jalen Milroe all day and held the Crimson Tide to just 75 yards on the ground. “This group believes that it’s really good,” said Heupel. “They’ve got a chance to be really special.”
Of Sampson’s role for the rest of the season, which includes Kentucky and Mississippi State at home followed by mighty Georgia in Athens on November 16, Nico predicted, “He will continue to be a dog.”
Said the ever-philosophical Sampson, “It’s always a blessing to be able to put one foot in front of the other.”