Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) throws against Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The most anticipated game in Knoxville in a generation ended in the most insane way possible for the Vols.
Chase McGrath’s 40-yard field goal as time expired gave Tennessee a 52-49 victory over their hated rival, who had tortured them for 15 straight meetings since 2006.
It was a wild back-and-forth game in which the Vols led 28-10 early on and appeared headed for a heartbreaking loss when the Crimson Tide took a 49-42 lead on a fumble that went back home midway. fourth trimester
UT then tied, giving Alabama a chance to drive for the win in the closing seconds. But Will Reichard’s 50-yard field goal attempt went wide to the right with 15 seconds left in the game.
That was all the time it took for Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker to get his team into field goal range.
He finished 21-for-30 for 385 yards, five touchdown passes and one interception, and all five TD passes went to Jalin Hyatt, who had 207 of those passing yards.
None of Hooker’s completions were bigger than his two strikes of 18 and 27 yards in the final seconds to put him in range of McGrath.
The game started with a furious flurry of scoring from Tennessee before the Crimson Tide fought their way back.
On the opening drive of the game, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, in his first game back since suffering a first-half shoulder injury against Arkansas two weeks ago, seemed faltering and ineffective, and Tide punted after. only five plays. Hooker entered, hailed as Tennessee’s best quarterback since you-know-who. Less than two minutes later, the Vols were in the end zone, the key play of the series being Hooker’s 20-yard run that electrified an already excited crowd at Neyland Stadium.
Young looked a little more like his Heisman-winning self on the next drive, leading Alabama 71 yards for a tying touchdown on a Jahmyr Gibbs dash. That was the last highlight for Alabama for quite some time, as Tennessee feasted on error after error from the Tide.
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Alabama hadn’t allowed a first-quarter touchdown in its last 13 games, the longest streak in the nation. Tennessee happily and quickly dropped three on the Tide. The first time Alabama forced Tennessee to punt, early in the second quarter, the Tide quickly returned the ball in one of the strangest plays ever seen in the Nick Saban regime: a botched punt return that ended up in the hands of Tennessee.
Throughout the game, Hooker was a model of efficiency, finding wide receivers throughout Alabama’s secondary and locating receivers who simply outplayed the defense. Alabama was waging an uphill war, battling a motivated, fast-attacking Tennessee team and their own mistakes, penalties that killed units and kept the Vols going.
With over 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Vols scored once again to go up 28-10. The stadium was delirious, dreams of an overturned mammoth and cigarette smoke dancing in their heads.
But Alabama is still Alabama, even through self-inflicted injuries. Down 18, Young demonstrated exactly why he is the reigning Heisman champion and why Alabama’s chances depend entirely on the health of his right shoulder. Alabama’s offensive line did him few favors, but he loved his way out of one jam after another. He threw passes in spaces the size of mailboxes. He dodged Tennessee fever with ballet twirls. He hit fast and often, and set the Tide back even with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.
With their three-possession lead gone, the Vols had every opportunity to fold. Instead, they got big, very, very big. Hooker hit Jalin Hyatt for touchdowns of 60 and 78 yards, and Neyland Stadium was shaken to its foundations. The only problem for Tennessee: Alabama was matching the Vols score by score.
Young was fantastic, with a final passing line of 35 of 52, 455 yards and two touchdowns. But it wasn’t enough this time.
Source: news.google.com