Five critical moments: Tennessee beats Alabama in Knoxville

Seven days after defeating rival Florida at Neyland Stadium, Tennessee football defeated rival Alabama 24-17 in a thrilling showdown on Saturday night. The Vols' defense was outstanding once again and after another poor first half, Tennessee's defense came to life with a strong second half.

Here are five defining moments from Tennessee's second win over the Crimson Tide in the last three years.

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Jermod McCoy turns the tide

Alabama pushed deep into Tennessee territory late in the first quarter. Facing second-and-goal at the three-yard line, the Crimson Tide went to star receiver Ryan Williams after a goal-line fade.

Jermod McCoy had other ideas about finding the ball and intercepting it with his left hand. He then had the presence of mind to retrieve the ball from the end zone and return it to the Alabama 46-yard line. It was an interception early in the game, but it should go down as one of the best in Tennessee history, equal to Deon Grant's one-handed interception against the Gators in 1998.

Not only did McCoy score three or seven points for Alabama, he also put Tennessee's offense in prime position to score points in the first quarter. Even if they couldn't capitalize on it.

A stop late in the first half

Alabama got within scoring range late in the first half with a 7-0 lead. A score of any kind felt like it would be monumental as Tennessee's offense continued to sluggish and struggle to put points on the scoreboard.

The Crimson Tide had first-and-10 at the Tennessee 36-yard line after a fourth-down conversion with a quarterback sneak. Tennessee flushed Jalen Milroe out of the pocket on first down and his throw was inaccurate. On second down, Dominic Bailey hit Milroe as he was throwing and the pass fell incomplete. On third down, Bailey and Omarr Norman-Lott each pressured Milroe and forced an incompletion.

Then Graham Nicholson's 54-yard field goal attempt was wide right and clearly close. Alabama had a chance at halftime to put Tennessee in a real hole. The Vols defense stood back up.

Tennessee is finally connecting

Tennessee had what felt like opportunity after opportunity to make deep plays down the field in the first half and early in the second half. The receivers would run open and Iamaleava would shoot over them, or the young quarterback would make nice throws and the receivers couldn't catch them.

But it wasn't until late in the third quarter that Alabama led 10-7 when Tennessee finally scored on a deep ball. It came at the perfect time. On third-and-six, Nico Iamaleava rolled to his right and dropped a nice, deep ball right into the basket of Dont'e Thornton, who finished from 55 yards.

On the very next play, Dylan Sampson knocked the ball in from two yards out and Tennessee had its first lead of the game.

Volumes win the field position battle

Alabama was back up 17-14, with Tennessee ahead early in the fourth quarter. Tennessee had a third-and-long at the Crimson Tide 45-yard line when Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle engineered a beautiful speed option call that gained 15 yards.

But a late flag and a holding stop against Chris Brazzell pushed Tennessee to third and fifth. Alabama exploded the running game and Heupel played the field position. The move was worth it.

Jackson Ross held Alabama at the four-yard line and the Tennessee defense did not allow a first down – the first of four consecutive occurrences that ended the game.

Tennessee took over at its own 46-yard line after the punt and put together a seven-play, 54-yard touchdown drive for the go-ahead score.

One last stop

It was fitting that, despite its strong play in the second half, Tennessee's offense was unable to score a first down to tie the game after the Vols turned the Crimson Tide over on downs deep in their own territory.

Alabama regained the ball from a seven-point deficit and no timeouts with 90 seconds left in the game. They didn't wait long to put the game away.

Bailey pressured Milroe and the quarterback threw it directly behind his intended receiver on an in-break route. Will Brooks jumped in front of it and made the game-winning interception against his hometown team.