The Alabama-Tennessee game on the third Saturday of October had been the game for both schools since the 1920s as the teams prepared for their 49th meeting in 1966. If the Alabama players needed any reminder of the importance of the game, the actions of their head coach when the team arrived in Knoxville the day before the clash punctuated the message.

Alabama QB Kenny Stabler recalled: "Flying in there the day before, we went by the stadium. When we got to the stadium, there was a high construction crane and at the end of the crane somebody had hung an Alabama player in effigy, and [it] was wearing a No. 12 jersey." That was Stabler's number. "That got my atten­tion," he added. "That was the first time I'd really been there [freshmen weren't allowed to play in 1966; Alabama was the home team his sophomore year] and seeing that gave you a great sense of the rivalry. It certainly added more interest to the game."

The Alabama team was greeted at the airport by members of the Knoxville Cham­ber of Commerce. "They met us and gave everybody a keychain with a replica of the stadium on it," PK-P Steve Davis said. "When they got to Coach Bryant and handed one to him, he threw it down on the ground. That got their attention." Bry­ant was in town to win a football game, not exchange pleasantries. "We didn't come here for a damn tour," he said before he stepped onto the bus.

Rain began falling in Knoxville on Thursday and continued through Saturday. Long­time Alabama radio announcer John Forney recalled thinking before the game: "While the two teams worked out in the downpour, all I could think of was that Alabama's quickness would be negated by the conditions." Both coaching staffs had to revise their game plan on the fly because of the rain.

A Neyland Stadium crowd of 56,368, the largest for a sports event in Tennessee, wondered: Which team would be the better mudders?

In the first half, Tennessee earned that distinction. On Alabama's first posses­sion, Vols defensive lineman Derrick Weatherford recovered a fumble by FB Les­lie Kelley at the Bama 23. Four plays later, quarterback Dewey Warren hit TE Austin Denney with a 6y touchdown pass, and Tennessee led 7-0 less than four minutes into the game. Forney: "The game had hardly begun and already Bama's game plan had to be changed."

Later in the half, a booming 55y punt by All-American Ron Widby was downed at the Tide one. That set up Gary Wright's 40y field goal to make it 10-0 with 1:06 left in the opening period.

Stabler, despite not completing any passes in the first half, led a drive that reached the UT six where he fumbled, and the Vols recovered. The half ended soon after.

Given the weather conditions and sloppy field, Alabama's chances of mounting a comeback seemed slim against a defense that had yet to yield a touchdown in 1966.

While listening to their coaches go over adjustments in the locker room, the play­ers wondered what Bear would say after such a miserable performance. They were expecting a tongue lashing. "I just knew Coach Bryant was going to throw a run­ning fit," said LB Mike Hall. "There was no way I was going to be sitting up front."

Imagine their surprise when Bryant came in slapping his fist into his other hand and singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." That usually meant a butt-chewing was next. In­stead, he smiled, clapped his hands together, and exclaimed: "This is perfect! We got 'em right where we want 'em. That was their half, and now this is our half coming up. What a chance we've got to show what we're made of." Hall recalled, "I was never more shocked in my life. It caught me off-guard."

LB Bob Childs was also surprised. "We had seen Coach Bryant angry before. We thought he was going to knock the crap out of whoever he could get his hands on. But he came in humming a tune. … We thought, what in the world is going on?"

OL Jim Fuller admitted he was scared. "Coach Bryant said, 'Managers, get these guys some dry jerseys and if there's anybody who wants to change pants, get those, too.' He called everybody up and told us to listen up. He then told the managers to 'Get these guys some Cokes.' He never raised his voice.

"We were really expecting him to come down on us. But he didn't. He was always a step ahead of us. I think he had a feeling of how to handle us in that situation. And he was right, of course."

When an official came in and said, "Five minutes to kickoff," Bryant told his team, "Let's go back out there and play." As Stabler recalled, "Coach Bryant always told us to keep doing the things we were doing, just do them better."

Childs said he returned to the field totally confident Alabama would win. "His speech wasn't a Knute Rockne-type speech, but he said the exact right thing for the time. It was exactly what we needed to hear."

But Tennessee wasn't about to make it easy for the Tide to come back. On the first play from scrimmage, Stabler completed his first pass of the afternoon, a 5-yarder to Ray Perkins, and later connected with TE Wayne Cook for 21y. But the Vol defense still kept their shutout intact.

Late in the third period, after the rain finally subsided, Hall smashed HB Charles Fulton hard, causing a fumble that DE Mike Ford recovered for Alabama at the UT 46.

Stabler took over from there. He hit WR Dennis Homan for 16y, and a 15y pen­alty for a personal foul moved the ball to the 15. Two plays later, Cook took a pass to make it first-and-goal at the five. FB Les Kelley smashed through right guard to the one as the period ended.

Two plays into the final quarter, Stabler sneaked over from inside the one. Al­though there was plenty of time left, Bryant decided to go for two. Stabler found Cook over the middle, and he fell into the end zone to make it 10-8 Tennessee. Wayne admitted after the game, "I was surprised they called that pass to me." He would catch only 14 all year.

Bear said afterward, "I did think first about trying to kick it. But that slick ball made me think again, and I was afraid the snap from center might be hard to hold. Under these conditions, it would have been an extra hardship on both the center and holder."

With the Tide defense shutting down the Vols, Alabama started a drive from their 25 with nine minutes left. Stabler assembled his huddle. "Alright, shut your mouths. We're putting the ball in the end zone."

Mixing runs and passes, Alabama slashed deep into UT territory in big chunks. During the drive, Kenny asked his guys, "Man, isn't this fun?" His coolness instilled confidence in his unit. Stabler kept handing the ball to Kelley to bang into the tiring Orange defenders. The march almost ended when Kelley fumbled at the 12, but Perkins recovered for a gain of 7y.

A keeper by Stabler made it first-and-goal at the three. When the Vols dug in and held Bama to just two yards on the next three plays, the Tide faced fourth-and-one with the clock ticking under four minutes. So Bryant sent in his kicker, Steve Davis. However, Bear didn't send in the regular holder, Bobby Johns. Instead, he sent instructions for Stabler to be the holder.

Johns recalled, "I had been holding for extra points and field goals. Steve Davis and I were a combo. I remember I was standing behind Coach Bryant and Coach (Sam) Bailey, and they were talking about whether they should let Stabler hold, because he had been dealing with a wet football all day. I was thinking, 'Just let Stabler hold it.'"

Davis got some extra incentive before he lined up for the kick. OL Bruce Ste­phens greeted the kicker when he reachshy;ed the huddle and said, "If you miss this field goal, I'll kill you." Davis replied, "I can promise you, I want to make this more than you want me to make it."

"You just rely on your instincts," Davis said. "It's like shooting a free throw to win the game, (the approach) is almost automatic because you've done it so many times. It's routine. I'd always look at the center's hand. As soon as the center's hand moved, I would start my motion. You look for keys, and that was my key. It wasn't a pretty kick. I didn't really get it very well. But the main thing was it went through."

To illustrate the thoroughness of Coach Bryant's preparation for each game, he had read in the Farmer's Almanac that there would be a strong chance of rain in East Tennessee that weekend. So at Wednesday's practice, he had his offense work with a wet football.

Tennessee still had 3:23 on the clock to counter with a field goal of their own. Any thought that the game was over quickly vanished. Starting from their 27, the Vols scared Bama fans with a 22y pass from Warren to Bill Baker. Then a half­back pass from Fulton to Denney moved the ball all the way to the Bama 13 where Johnny Mosely made a touchdown-saving tackle. Just like that, UT was in field goal range for its kicker, who earlier booted a soggy 40-yarder.

When Bob Mauriello punched the ball to the three on two runs, it looked like the Vols would not have to settle for a field goal. But the Tide defense, showing the same spunk the Vols had just exhibited at the opposite end of the field, held UT to just a yard on two runs. Despite having time for perhaps one more shot at the end zone, the Vols called their final timeout with 16 seconds remaining. QB Warren insisted afterwards, "I don't know who called time out. I didn't." Nobody ever re­membered doing so.

Coach Dickey sent in PK Wright, who had made the 30-yarder in the first half. Wright was an Alabama native who chose to walk on at Tennessee rather than go to Alabama. The snap and placement were fine, but the kick from the right hash mark sailed just outside the right upright. Sometimes marvelous preparation isn't enough to win, and a team needs a little luck. Final score: Alabama 11 Tennessee 10

Bama's kicker Davis watched from the sideline with baited breath. "Dude Hen­nessey was the coach (who scouted the opponent) for that game, and I remember when they got ready to kick the field goal, he turned his head and refused to watch. I watched the ball. I watch where the ball lands. Usually, that's a good way to tell if the kick is good or not. I saw where it landed, and I thought he had made it, but the referee signaled it was no good. I was surprised. It couldn't have missed by much. It had to be close."

Davis empathized with his Vol counterpart. "Kicking can be tough. If you make a kick like that, you're the hero. If you miss it, you're the goat. It's that simple."

Bryant said afterward, "If I were on Tennessee's side, I'd say Alabama was lucky. Call it fate, good fortune, or just plain luck, we're grateful for the win. … I doubt that we'll play anybody better than Tennessee this season–at least I hope not."

Coach Dickey: "I told our boys that this was a game that would likely be won in the last two minutes. … We played a fine game. I wouldn't take a play out, not a play. … I suppose I could second guess myself and say we shouldn't have played cautiously with a 10-0 lead in the second and third quarters. But I'd never forget it if I gave the ball away in a game like that."