10 Years Later, Rocky Block Still Resonates

There are moments that Alabama fans will never forget where they were.

They’re usually associated with a national championship, or with things like when Nick Saban’s plane touched down at the Tuscaloosa airport. Sometimes, though, something happens in a game that will stay with them forever.

Rocky Block was one of those times.

Ten years later, it's something that's still being regularly relived in Tuscaloosa, and a game Saban will be asked about for the rest of his life.

"Obviously that play was really significant in terms of that team and what that team was able to accomplish, and what that team was able to do," the coach said. "My thoughts on before we blocked the kick I thought we didn’t play particularly well in the game.

"My thoughts afterward was it was a great play by a lot of players. Great effort on his part. I’m not sure Julio [Jones] or somebody else would have blocked it if he didn’t block it. It was a great win for us. But sometimes in rivalry games you have those kinds of tough tests. You have to be ready for it, you have to complete for 60 minutes in the game, and we were very fortunate in that game to be able to come out on top."

After reaching the SEC Championship Game the previous season, the Crimson Tide was aiming for something more in 2009. It was coming off back-to-back wins against ranked opponents when the Third Saturday in October rivalry rolled around. Winning at No. 20 Ole Miss and against No. 22 South Carolina by a combined scored of 42-9 had given the team an air of confidence, but all the conditions were ideal for an upset.

Tennessee was 3-3, but coming off a bye week after dismantling Georgia, 45-19. New coach (and future Alabama offensive coordinator) Lane Kiffin had guaranteed wins at No. 1 Florida, which didn’t happen, and against the Bulldogs, which did. Regardless, the improving Volunteers were beginning to believe.

Plus, Alabama was playing its eighth-straight game without a break. Its bye would be the following week before hosting No. 9 LSU, arguably the most physical game the Crimson Tide played year-in, year-out, especially when Les Miles was the coach.

Alabama never trailed, but it also didn’t score a touchdown.

Leigh Tiffin made field goals of 38, 50 and 22 yards as the Crimson Tide had a 9-3 lead at halftime, but it was a tentative one — especially for an undefeated team with postseason aspirations.

As home fans grew more anxious, Tennessee went for the first down on fourth-and-1 from its own 44 in the third quarter, and again on fourth-and-inches from the Alabama 21 in the fourth.

Massive defensive lineman Terrence Cody knocked down a low 43-yard field-goal attempt and Tiffin had a 49-yard field goal barely clear the crossbar with 6:31 remaining to make it 12-3. At the time, no one knew just how crucial those points would be.

Blocked Again Cody Again! https://t.co/9zzJzrkSdD
— Barstool Bama (@BarstoolAlabama) October 14, 2019

The Volunteers kept chipping away, looking for the break that would turn the momentum for good, and it finally happened with 3:29 remaining. When Alabama was trying to kill the clock, running back Mark Ingram Jr., who was beginning to get serious Heisman Trophy consideration, lost his first fumble in 296 career carries (322 touches) with Eric Berry recovering.

Tennessee had a first down at the Alabama 43 and needed just eight plays to reach the end zone. It was the first touchdown the Crimson Tide had yielded in 11 quarters.

The Volunteers subsequently got a good bounce on the onside kick and recovered, turning concern by the Bryant-Denny Stadium faithful into desperation and alarm. With first down at his own 41, and 1:10 remaining, Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton completed passes of 14 and 23 yards to get his team into field-goal range.

Tennessee had out-gained Alabama 341-256 yards and had the ball almost five minutes more than the Crimson Tide. Greg McElroy was 18 of 29 passing, but with only 120 yards due to several dropped balls. It all came down to a 44-yard attempt with 4 seconds on the clock.

That’s when Mt. Cody caused an eruption in Tuscaloosa.

Lined up against the same player as the previous block, he pushed him back and stuck out his massive arm only to knock the ball out of the air again. Although the kick appeared to be a little off-center and heading left, the clock ran out as Cody ripped his helmet off and started charging down the field in celebration.

“It was just emotional, crazy,” Cody said at the time about the pandemonium that ensued, with fans eventually chanting “Cody, Cody …”

Meanwhile, in the visitor’s locker room, Kiffin called it the worst feeling he’d ever had.

"It's a difficult loss to deal with," he said. "You come into a hostile environment and play the No. 1 team in the country, as I said before by far the No. 1 team in the country and the best-coached team around. You come in here and out-gain them by [nearly] 100 yards and miss three field goals.

"I don't believe in moral victories, we should have won that game."

Still probably the loudest moment I’ve ever witnessed in BDS https://t.co/UjMLyKcn9k
— Rice (@TaylorRiceUA17) October 14, 2019

When teams go on to win championships in football, there’s often a game that went down to the wire in which it felt fortunate to win. This was definitely it.

Linebacker Cory Reamer called it a play that would go down in history, perhaps along the likes of the goal-line stand against Penn State in the 1979 Sugar Bowl or George Teague’s strip in the 1992 Sugar Bowl, but the magnitude would eventually be determined by how the Crimson Tide finished.

Alabama was 8-0, 5-0 in Southeastern Conference play and would remain second in the Bowl Championship Series rankings, still able to determine its own fate.

The prefect season was barely intact, but it was intact.

"You talk about how fragile a season is," Saban said. "You're controlling a game, even though you may say it's winning ugly. We're still ahead 12-3 and totally controlling the game with 3 minutes, 29 seconds and the ball. That's how fragile a season can be. You make one mistake and you have to go overcome it."

A version of this story originally appeared in the book "Decade of Dominance."