Three Observations From No.6 Tennessee's 52-49 Win Over No.3 Alabama

On Saturday night, Tennessee outlasted Alabama 52-49 in an instant classic on Rocky Top. Outside of the electricity atmosphere and pandemonium that reigned, I

On Saturday night, Tennessee outlasted Alabama 52-49 in an instant classic on Rocky Top. Outside of the electricity atmosphere and pandemonium that reigned, I take a look at my three biggest observations from Saturday's impressive win. 

This Team is Different

Call it what you will, but this Tennessee team is different. I have seen the air let out of Neyland Stadium on multiple occasions in the last 15 years. When Dallas Turner scooped up Jabari Small's fumble and danced into the end zone to put Alabama up 49-42 with 7:49 to go, it would have likely spelled game over based on recent historically trends. Instead, all Tennessee did was march down the field, tie the game, find a way to force a long, missed field goal, get the ball back and the rest is well, the rest is history. 

Now with that said, what is different. I don't know for certain that anyone could pinpoint one thing. But the common theme that I see is a group of players that believe in and want to play for their coaches, and that can take you a long way in the world of college football. 

Josh Heupel Is the Best Play-caller in America

There is a genuine believe from players in all of their coaches, but it starts at the top. Everyone inside of the Tennessee program trust Josh Heupel, and all he does is deliver time and time again. This game was never too big for him. It didn't swallow him up like we have seen head coaches of the past get swallowed up. Instead, he called one of the best games in recent memory. Jalin Hyatt smashed a school record. The Vols hung the most points on Alabama since 1907 and the most on Nick Saban since his time at Michigan State. Folks can call Heupel's offense gimmicky, but it sells. He utilize every inch of the field and is meticulous in his approach. He carved up an Alabama defense that had been as good as any defense in the country before Saturday night.

This Is Not the Peak, This is Just the Start

As Alabama marched into field goal range on their final drive of the game, I had to pull my phone out for a quick google search. "Who is No.36?" I asked multiple people standing around me on the field. The answer is walk-on defensive back Will Wright. He had seen action in one game as a Vol before tonight, according to his university profile. Yet, in a tie game with 50 seconds left, he was lined up over star wide receiver Jermaine Burton. 

Warren Burrell and Jaylen McCollough were both unavailable, Cedric Tillman, arguably the Vols top offensive weapon, was again sidelined, but Tennessee found a way when it mattered the most. 

The Vols are going to have a chance to make the playoffs this fall, but this is just the beginning of what Josh Heupel wants to do on Rocky Top. He has a solid recruiting class coming in, he is building his program around a team-first culture, and Tennessee appears to be back for the first time in a long time.