No. 8 Tennessee knocks off No. 1 Alabama with field goal on final play
There will be a new No. 1 in college football next week.
No. 8 Tennessee knocked off top-ranked Alabama 52-49 behind the standout play of quarterback Hendon Hooker and a clutch kick from Chase McGrath. Almost as sweet for the Volunteers, they broke a 15-game losing streak to their rival with the victory.
Hooker finished 21-of-30 for 385 yards and five touchdowns as he outdueled reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and established himself as a top contender for college football's biggest individual award.
In a back-and-forth game, Hooker found Jalin Hyatt for a 13-yard touchdown to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Hyatt caught all five of Hooker's scoring passes and finished with six catches for 207 yards.
Young drove Alabama into field-goal range but a missed 50-yard kick gave the Volunteers one final chance. Hooker completed two passes and set up McGrath for a kick to win the game. He delivered with a knuckleball from 40 yards out that barely cleared the crossbar and kept Tennessee unbeaten.
In one of the best games of this long rivalry, Tennessee started fast with Hooker throwing for two touchdowns in the first quarter as the Volunteers jumped out to a 21-10 lead. The lead would grow to 28-10 after a Crimson Tide special teams miscue gave the ball back to Tennessee, and Princeton Fant scored on 2-yard run.
Alabama got things calmed down with Young finding Ja'Corey Brooks for a 7-yard touchdown and then a field goal making the score 28-20 at the half.
The Crimson Tide got a fourth-down stop after Tennessee got the ball first in the third quarter and then needed just three plays to go 59 yards, finished by a 26-yard run by Jahmyr Gibbs. A two-point conversion pass from Young to Brooks tied things at 28.