Vols delight the home crowd with win over alabama

Photo by Tennessee Athletics

By Jon Reed

Free as the feelin’ in the wind.

That was the vibe inside of Neyland Stadium on Saturday night as the Vols took down Alabama for the second time in a row in Knoxville.

Joy. Jubilation.

Relief.

Everything in the 2024 season was leading to the test against the Tide. All of the early season success was invalid without a win; the failure in Fayetteville would be forgiven with a victory. A loss would have put the season on life support. A loss didn’t happen.

Josh Heupel recorded another much needed signature victory by sending Kalen DeBoer to the losers circle in his first ever Third Saturday in October. Heupel gets to leave that game riding high, holding more wins over Alabama than any active coach at his current school. DeBoer leaves with more questions than answers about his longterm success following Nick Saban.

It wasn’t always pretty, but it was beautiful.

And It wasn’t without its struggles or doubts. For the third straight game, the Vols were shut out in the first half. Vibes were not high. But they weren’t as low as they could have been.

There was a strange sense of belief that Nico and the offense would figure it out if the defense kept giving them opportunities. And the defense kept giving them chance after chance. For four straight drives, the Tennessee defense kept Alabama within one score.

Halfway through the second quarter, Nico got hit in the head and knocked out of the game. Then, in his words, he woke up. And turned into the killer that Tennessee needed.

The throws became strong and confident. The athleticism was put on full display on a key scramble to set up the game-tying touchdown. The offense clicked.

Neyland Stadium came alive.

After exchanging a couple of body blows, the Tennessee offense delivered a ferocious uppercut with one of the best touchdown catches in Volunteer history as Chris Brazzell II laid out perfectly to haul in the score that would put the Big Orange up for good.

The defense finished the job with a TKO, stopping Alabama on three straight possessions to seal the win.

In fact, Tim Banks and his pack of dogs held offensive genius Kalen DeBoer to a grand total of 1 yard with 1 turnover after the Vols took the lead. It was as dominant of a defensive performance as you could have asked for.

The transfer portal gems set the tone early with Jakobe Thomas’s red zone tackle on Jalen Milroe. Just two plays later, Jermod McCoy, the best Tennessee cornerback of this millennium, made an interception that will inevitably end up on his highlight reel during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The rest of the game was dominated by their homegrown defensive line talent. James Pearce Jr showed why he was a preseason All-American and projected top 5 pick. Joshua Josephs blew up Alabama’s offensive line on the game-clinching interception.

It was a complete performance by the Tennessee defense. One so dominant that you can officially put to bed any doubt you may have had about the first half of the schedule and the quality of the opponent.

They are an elite unit, historically good even. For the first time since the 1960s, they’ve held each of their first seven opponents to fewer than 20 points.

Tennessee will go into every game with a chance to win because their defense is as good as any in the country. The defense is good enough to carry the team to the 12-team playoffs. The offense can boost those aspirations into championship territory.

It’s a popular cliché, but the offense feels close.

Tennessee became the first team since 2006 to win back-to-back SEC games after being shut out in the first half. You saw the flashes in the second half against Florida where so many plays were just barely missed. You saw tangible progress against Alabama, hitting a crescendo with the roll out deep bomb to Dont’e Thornton Jr to set the Vols up to take the lead. The game winner was reaching nirvana.

Because of the win, the team has bought themselves more time to start clicking. Neyland Magic should be enough to carry  them over the next three weeks and  two games against conference bottom feeders. The trip to Athens feels more like a chance to make a statement to the country and improve your national seeding than a necessity.

Josh Heupel has been in this position before in 2022. His team didn’t merely stumble, it had its legs completely chopped out from under them. That was about the defense not being good enough.

Vol nation is hoping that a lesson was learned in that heartbreak because the only thing that stands between them and a chance to play for a national championship is two of the bottom three teams in the conference and Vanderbilt, all to be played in the state of Tennessee.

Here’s to some more successful and non-heartbreaking Tennessee Saturday nights.