Saturday’s game could put the Vols back on equal footing with their SEC rival. But what would have happened if Bama didn’t block that kick in 2009?
The afternoon began with a headset outage, and to this day parties on both sides passive-aggressively accuse each other of gamesmanship. The clash between two college football rivals wound over a strange three hours, bereft of drama until a sudden infusion of it in the final three minutes. The contest ended with a blocked kick that literally has been framed and mounted in the winning school’s rich history.
Thereafter, the two programs went their separate ways—one to the pinnacle of college football, the other into the abyss of mediocrity.