KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After a see-saw battle on the gridiron, the Tennessee Volunteers (11) proved victorious over the Alabama Crimson Tide (7), winning 24-17 Saturday in Knoxville.
The Tennessee defense, with some help from the home crowd at Neyland Stadium, forced a three-and-out on Alabama's opening drive. Tennessee looked to make something happen on its own opening possession, and moved downfield before a deflating Dylan Sampson fumble in the red zone gifted the ball back to the Crimson Tide.
Alabama looked like it was going to get on the board in the first quarter, but Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy intercepted Jalen Milroe's pass in the endzone and returned it 54 yards to put the Tennessee offense in prime position to make something happen. The Vols tried to take the first lead of the game, but Max Gilbert's 53-yard field goal was not good and the team remained scoreless with 3:42 left in the opening frame.
The Crimson Tide finally broke through early in the second quarter when Milroe found star freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams for a 5-yard touchdown connection to give Alabama a 7-0 lead with 13:01 remaining in the first half.
Tennesseee's following drive was derailed when Nico Iamaleava was shaken up following a sack. Backup quarterback Gaston Moore entered the game and immediately threw an interception on third down that Alabama returned across midfield, but the Tennessee defense prevented Alabama from adding to its lead.
Nico Iamaleava was cleared to return to action for the Vols' next possession and completed his next three passes before throwing a red zone interception to spoil the drive, but Tennessee's defense stood tall yet again to keep it a one-score game.
Alabama's penalties on the defense helped Tennessee move the ball into a potential scoring position, but another Gilbert field goal from 50 yards out was off the mark with 4:06 left in the half. Alabama missed a field goal of its own in the final minute of play, and following another Nico Iamaleava sack, the Vols were content to let the final seconds of the half tick away and go into the break trailing 7-0.
The Vols sprung to life in the second half thanks to the rushing contributions of Dylan Sampson and Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee marched 92 yards down the field and Dylan Sampson capped off the drive with a two-yard score to even the game at 7-7 with 6:32 remaining in the third.
Alabama responded with points of its own on the ensuing drive. The Crimson Tide took the ball 58 yards downfield and Alabama kicker Graham Nicholson drilled a 35-yard field goal to put the visiting team back in front, 10-7, with 3:11 left to play in the third.
The Vols' passing game fueled the offense on the next scoring drive and Iamaleava hit Dont'e Thornton for a massive 55-yard completion to get Tennessee within striking distance. Dylan Sampson punched it in from three yards out to give Tennessee its first lead of the contest, 14-10, with one minute left in the third quarter.
Alabama responded in a back-and-forth second half. Jalen Milroe hit Germie Bernard for a 28-yard gain to get the Crimson Tide to the seven-yard line, and Justice Haynes took a seven-yard rush into the endzone to get Alabama in front once again, 17-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee pulled ahead once more with 5:52 left in regulation. Iamaleava fired a pass to Chris Brazzell, who made a spectacular diving catch in the endzone to give the Vols a 21-17 lead.
With less than two minutes left in regulation, Tennessee kicked a field goal, bringing the lead to 24-17 before intercepting the ball from Alabama to secure the win.
Both teams were 5-1 going into Saturday's game.
WBIR Knoxville contributed to this report.
Look for reactions from the Locked On Bama podcast team here later this evening.
There will be more from Knoxville tonight on FOX54 News following College Football coverage, as well as Sunday on FOX54 Sports Xtra and The Kalen DeBoer Show starting at 10 p.m.