How It Happened: No. 11 Alabama rallies to beat No. 17 Tennessee, 34-20

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 17 Tennessee led No. 11 Alabama 20-7 at halftime Saturday afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but the Crimson Tide scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to win 34-20 in the latest edition of the Third Saturday in October rivalry.

Here’s how it happened as it happened:

First Quarter

Tennessee 7, Alabama 0 (12:39): The Vols got the ball first and went down the field on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown pass from Joe Milton to Squirrel White. The play was reviewed and the call on the field was upheld after replay showed White catch the pass, then drag one foot across the goal line before falling out of bounds. Milton completed all five pass attempts on the drive, throwing for 60 yards. He ran for nine yards on third-and-6, too, while Jaylen Wright added six yards on two carries, including another third-down conversion.

WHAT A GRAB. 🐿️‼️
pic.twitter.com/yaQfjozait

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) October 21, 2023

Tennessee 10, Alabama 0 (2:00): After the two teams traded punts, Tennessee’s offense got back to work with another scoring drive. This one 79 yards over 15 plays, taking five minutes, 30 seconds off the clock, and was capped with a 24-yard Charles Campbell field.

Tennessee 13, Alabama 0 (0:11): Campbell kicked a 26-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 13 after Tennessee recovered a Jalen Milroe fumble at the Alabama 23-yard line. Milroe was sacked by sophomore James Pearce and the fumble was recovered by Omarr Norman-Lott.

Second Quarter

Tennessee 13, Alabama 7 (7:05): The Crimson Tide got on the scoreboard in the second quarter on a 10-yard pass from Milroe to Jermaine Burton. The scoring drive went 59 yards in nine plays and took 4:05 off the clock. Tennessee cornerback Kamal Hadden left the game during the drive after holding his right shoulder following a tackle.

A couple big plays send Tennessee into the break with a 20-7 lead and a ton of momentum.

Jaylen McCollough comes away with a big interception in the endzone, and then Joe Milton finds McCallan Castles for a TD in the closing seconds. pic.twitter.com/jdSLOxolDz

— Frank DeLuca (@FrankDeLucaTV) October 21, 2023

Tennessee 20, Alabama 7 (0:12): Tennessee generated its second takeaway when Jaylen McCollough intercepted Milroe in the corner of the end zone on a pass that bounced off the shoulder of Jermaine Burton. The Vols went down the field the other direction with a 14-yard pass to White, a 30-yard pass to Ramel Keyton and capped the touchdown drive with a six-yard pass from Milton to tight end McCallan Castles. The drive went 80 yards in 10 plays, taking 2:58 off the clock and leaving Alabama with just 12 seconds to work with.

Joe Cool.
pic.twitter.com/qBPYSeIXRX

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) October 21, 2023

Third Quarter

Tennessee 20, Alabama 14 (14:19): The Tide needed just two plays and only 41 seconds to open the scoring in the second half. Jase McClellan ran for 29 yards on first down, then Milroe threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond to get it back to a one-possession game, cutting the Tennessee lead down to six.

Tennessee 20, Alabama 17 (8:33): Tennessee went three-and-out after starting the following drive at the 4-yard line — the Vols attempted to return the kick after signaling for a fair catch — and Alabama came back with three more points. The drive went 46 yards in six plays and ended with a 42-yard field goal from Will Reichard.

Alabama 24, Tennessee 20 (3:42): Josh Heupel opted to go for it on fourth and a long one at midfield and the Vols failed, dropping to 0-for-4 on fourth downs the last two weeks. The Crimson Tide kept the momentum going the other way, driving 47 yards in five plays to take their first lead of the game with a 5-yard run from Jase McClellan.

Fourth Quarter

Alabama 27, Tennessee 20 (8:17): The Tide made it 20 straight points in the second half when Will Reichard hit a 50-yard field goal to put his team up seven. The drive went 56 yards in 15 plays and took 7:51 off the clock. Alabama converted third-and-10 with a 15-yard run from Milroe and picked up another first down on third-and-9 when Tennessee was called for holding in the secondary.

Alabama 34, Tennessee 20 (7:26): The nightmare second half continued two plays into Tennessee’s next drive. Milton was sacked from behind, stripped of the football and Alabama scooped and scored to build its lead to two touchdowns.