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Tennessee football fans enjoy cigar smoke as the odds burn in Alabama

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Tennessee football fans enjoy cigar smoke as the odds burn in Alabama

The goalposts at Neyland Stadium held their ground on Saturday. And there were no fans rushing to the Tennessee River after the game with those goalposts in tow.

But Tennessee football fans could once again enjoy the traditional smell of cigar smoke with a win over Alabama. Even better, they could look beyond the regular season to the College Football Playoff.

With the 24:17 win, No. 10 Tennessee not only increased its postseason chances and improved its record to 6:1. That left Alabama's playoff chances hanging by a thread under first-year Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.

Alabama is now 0-0 against Tennessee after suffering an epic loss to Vanderbilt on the first Saturday of the month. It is also 5-2 with SEC games remaining against Missouri, LSU, Oklahoma and Auburn.

Even the new 12-team playoff format likely won't make room for a three-loss team.

The Vols had playoff expectations two years ago when they beat Alabama 52-49. Their fans celebrated accordingly and not just by lighting cigars. They dismantled the gateposts and made their way to the river.

Coach Josh Heupel's high-speed offensive was almost unstoppable back then. This time, Tennessee's defense stopped Alabama in the first half, and the offense came to life in the third quarter after a dismal first half that left them 0-7.

Dylan Sampson had a 36-yard run and quarterback Nico Iamaleava gained another 27 yards in a seven-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that tied the game, shifted the momentum and changed the tone of the game.

After defense – and attack errors – dominated the first half, offenses suddenly began trading points.

When Alabama responded with a field goal attempt, the more confident Tennessee struck again. Iamaleava, who overthrew deep receivers twice in the first half, connected on a perfectly thrown deep ball to Dont'e Thornton for a 55-yard gain that set up Sampson's second short-scoring run. The Tide quickly responded with another touchdown drive.

Tennessee's game-winning touchdown came from another precise throw from Iamaleava. Chris Brazzell made a diving catch in the right corner of the end zone to put the Vols ahead by four points with 5:52 to play. They added a field goal to make up the final score.

Tennessee's offense, and especially Iamaleava, deserves credit for their resilience after one mishap after another with three turnovers in the first half. And praise the Tennessee crowd for relentlessly cranking up the volume. The constant noise brought little relief to Alabama's offense. Neither did UT’s defense.

But as the defense faltered, the offense rallied from its three-game lull.

The win capped a strange month for the Vols, who have an open date before playing Kentucky on Nov. 2 at Neyland Stadum. They lost as 13.5-point favorites to the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and needed overtime to hold off Florida on their home field.

They're nowhere near as entertaining as they were when their rushing offense overwhelmed much of the competition, scoring 191 points in the first three games of this season. These victories against vastly inferior opponents almost made us believe that no one could contain Heupel's offense.

But the defense also deceived us. It no longer just plays a complementary role. It has frequently starred, ranking second nationally in yards allowed per game and fourth in points allowed per game.

Who would have thought that in an offensive era, the Vols could play their way into the playoffs in part because of their defense? Additionally, they defeated their two biggest nemesis, Florida and Alabama, on consecutive Saturdays.

Fittingly, UT's defense completed the win when safety Will Brooks intercepted a pass from Jalen Milroe. That wasn't enough to trigger a rush to the goal post. But it was worth more than a celebratory cigar.

And it's enough to make Tennessee fans believe there's even bigger things to come.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He can be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

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