Although the rivalry has appeared to be lopsided since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa, the “Third Saturday in October” has provided fans some memorable moments since its original creation.
One of the fondest memories for Alabama fans was the infamous “Rocky Block” in 2009 when Terence Cody blocked two of Daniel Lincoln’s kicks with one coming on the last play of the game keep the team’s undefeated season alive.
Without that win, Alabama would have fallen from the number one spot in the country and may have ended its hopes of an eventual national championship game against Texas later that year due to the BCS rating system and the fact that the Volunteers were unranked.
The game had potential in being the moment that derailed the eventual Alabama dynasty before it even started but it instead put them on the path to taking over college football.
Another moment that has shaped this rivalry came in 2005 when Alabama and Tennessee squared off when the rivalry had been favored the opposite way. Coming into the game the Volunteers had won 10 of the last 11 games before coming to Tuscaloosa that day.
In what was another 6-3 slugfest, the big play remembered from that game, much like Cody’s block, was the forced fumble from defensive back Roman Harper. In the fourth quarter when Tennessee was driving on Alabama’s defense fullback Corey Anderson caught a pass on the Crimson Tide’s 15-yard line when Harper came flying in and jarring out the ball with his helmet.
It all hasn’t worked out for the Crimson Tide in the series, and 2003 was a prime example. With Alabama having one of its worst teams in recent memory, it was still able to fight its way into a five-overtime game against the Volunteers. Although it was a difficult season and Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen made the iconic conversion on 4th and 19 in the second overtime, Alabama had planted a few seeds of hope of returning to competitive football that season.
Flashing forward to a more recent moment that poured a bit of gas on the fire came in the 2016 matchup between the two when Alabama won 49-10 in Knoxville. Although the score was lopsided and never truly competitive, one of the final big plays in the game resulted in one of the funnier and disrespectful moves in recent memory.
Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough took a hand off 85-yards to balloon the score to a 39 point lead, but the run was made much more famous from the attempted high five Scarbrough tried to make with an unwilling Volunteer fan.
It didn’t make coach Saban pleased but it did add another thread to the heat of the future competitions.
With so much occurring over the course of the century long rivalry, both teams will be looking to add another new moment to the reel when the two kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
