The Tennessee Volunteers are celebrating one of their biggest regular season wins in franchise history, having defeated the Alabama Crimson in a last-second thriller on Saturday night.
Alabama kicker Will Reichard missed a potential game-winning 50-yard field goal attempt with 15 seconds remaining. Rather than play it safe and go to overtime, Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel went for the win.
Hendon Hooker completed passes to Ramel Keyton and Bru McCoy to set up Chase McGrath’s 40-yard field goal attempt. McGrath sent it through the uprights to lead Tennessee to a big-time upset for the Crimson Tide.
Jim Dunaway shared an awesome video via Twitter which captured the reactions of many Volunteers fans over the final moments of the game.
Saturday marked the Volunteers’ first win against Alabama since 2006. Of course, the Crimson Tide didn’t have the legendary Nick Saban back then, as he was coaching the NFL’s Miami Dolphins at the time.
The 2006 Volunteers’ squad defeated Alabama 16-13 that year in what would be their last win over the longtime rivals for 16 years. Tennessee would lose 20-10 to the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Outback Bowl game.
Tennessee’s victory also led to a major shake-up in the latest AP Top 25 rankings. The defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs retained the top spot, and the Volunteers moved up to No. 3 (Ohio State is No. 2).
The Michigan Wolverines moved up into the No. 4 spot, while the Clemson Tigers fell down one spot into fifth. In an extreme rarity, the Crimson Tide find themselves outside the top five and at No. 6.
The Volunteers will look to continue the momentum when they host the 4-2 UT Martin Skyhawks this Saturday. Saban and Alabama will try to rebound from a painful loss when they host the No. 24 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.
