Alabama’s trip to Tennessee was billed as one of the biggest games of the college football season to date. It lived up to the hype and then some.
In a thrilling shootout that came down to a last-second 40-yard field goal by Chase McGrath, Tennessee earned its first win over Alabama since 2006, defeating the Crimson Tide 52-49 to remain unbeaten while handing Alabama its first loss of the year.
Hendon Hooker positioned himself to be C.J. Stroud’s top competition for the Heisman Trophy by completing 21 of 30 passing attempts for 385 yards and five touchdowns and rushing for another 56 yards. All five of his touchdown passes were caught by Jalin Hyatt, who became the first receiver to score 10 receiving touchdowns this year – surpassing Marvin Harrison Jr. for the FBS lead in receiving touchdowns – on a day where he had 207 receiving yards on only six catches.
Both defenses struggled throughout the game, as Alabama finished with 569 yards and Tennessee finished with 567 yards, but a missed 50-yard field goal by Alabama’s Will Reichard followed by McGrath’s 40-yard make ultimately made the difference as the Volunteers scored more points against the Crimson Tide than any other team in the past 115 years.
Alabama allowed 52 points, its most in any game since 1907 against Sewanee (54 points) - per @ESPNStatsInfo
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) October 15, 2022
The win led to a raucous on-field celebration inside Neyland Stadium as “Dixieland Delight” – a song that’s regularly played at Alabama football games – was played over the stadium speakers.
"THIS IS COLLEGE FOOTBALL AT ITS ABSOLUTE BEST!"
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 15, 2022
Josh Heupel joins @JennyDell_ after an unforgettable win in Knoxville. pic.twitter.com/e7srjJdFPU
With the win, Tennessee improved to 6-0 and asserted itself as a potential championship contender, setting up its game at Georgia on Nov. 5 as a de facto SEC East title game. Alabama still controls its own destiny in the SEC West but now enters likely must-win territory for the remainder of the season if it’s going to return to the College Football Playoff this year.
