TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Coming into Saturday’s matchup with Alabama, Tennessee was looking for its first complete, four-quarter game.
The Vols came close to the complete game – the four quarters they had a little trouble with.
“I don’t know why we wait so long to get it done,” UT head coach Phillip Fulmer said after the Vols defeated Alabama 51-43 in five overtimes. “Hopefully we can grow and build and become a more efficient offensive football team and not wait until our backs are to the wall.”
It took the Vol offense nearly four quarters to get in rhythm.
With less than two minutes to play, Tennessee drove 86 yards, all on the arm of quarterback Casey Clausen, to tie the game.
Prior to the drive, Clausen was 2-for-7 in the second half.
“There’s not a tougher minded quarterback in the country, in my opinion, than Casey Clausen,” Fulmer said. “He is as tough physically and mentally as I’ve been around.”
The senior co-captain finished the game 23-of-43 passing for 283 yards and four touchdowns.
But of all the things, it was Clausen’s legs that gave the Vols the win.
In the fifth overtime, the Californian dashed for a first down inside the 1-yard line, then kept the ball on a sneak for the winning score.
“When you get to overtime, it’s basically last man standing,” Clausen said. “They made great plays and we made great plays. It’s just great to get out of here with a win.”
Helping Clausen with those plays was sophomore wide receiver James Banks. The converted quarterback had five drops, but did continue his pattern of dramatic catches by grabbing a touchdown pass that deflected off Mark Jones and an Alabama defender in the second overtime.
The pair did the same on a Hail Mary pass against Florida earlier in the season.
“Me and Mark work on that all the time,” Banks said with a laugh. “I was just lucky.”
Banks then came back to grab a 25-yard touchdown pass from Clausen on the first play of the third OT.
“He’s growing as a receiver – he is quite a football player,” Fulmer said. “He had quite a day, but a lot of people did.”
One of those people was senior linebacker Robert Peace, who finished with 11 total tackles – including an incredible five for loss yardage and a couple more keys ones near the goal-line.
“Robert Peace made a hundred tackles tonight,” Fulmer said. “Every time you looked up he was making a play.”
Peace and the Vol D rebounded well after back-to-back disappointing games. Tennessee had two goal-line stands against the Tide, allowing only three points in those two drives.
The defense also recorded two interceptions, one by senior Jabari Greer and the other by freshman Corey Campbell. Filling in for injured free safety Rashad Baker, Campbell made his second interception in as many games.
“He’s a very talented individual,” UT defensive coordinator John Chavis said. “He’s been forced into playing time and done well with it.”
Meanwhile, sophomore cornerback Jason Allen struggled a bit, even while recording 11 tackles.
He shined when it counted the most, though.
On what turned out to be the game’s final play, Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle went for the end zone on fourth-and-2 in the fifth overtime. But Allen was in position to knock the ball away and after nearly five hours, the game was finally complete.
“That’s fitting after he got scorched a couple of times,” Fulmer said. “When the ball left his hand, I saw Jason was in great position and I felt like we were going to start taking our headsets off.
“He was in perfect position to make that play.”
First-year Alabama head coach Mike Shula said the loss was disappointing, but the performance gave his team hope for the future.
“We had some opportunities to win the game and finish it, but we didn’t,” Shula said. “We’re not there yet, but we will be.”
After the first overtime game of the series, Peace said the game summed up what the rivalry was all about.
“Both teams were exhausted and both teams wouldn’t quit,” Peace said. “This is going to go down as a classic football game.”
