The Tennessee Volunteers’ 15 years of pain have finally come to an end as they bested the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday 52-49. The game absolutely lived up to the billing as both sides had plenty of opportunities to win, but ultimately the Tide couldn’t overcome 17 penalties that went for 130 yards.
Alabama still controls its own destiny to the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoffs, but losing to a bitter rival never sits well with anyone, especially after all this time.
The Volunteers will take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a few weeks in a winner takes all for the SEC East while Alabama and Ole Miss are gonna be in a race for the West.
Knoxville erupted after the Volunteers shocking upset, just like Alabama Twitter reacting to the unfortunate loss. Look below to see how fans took it:
Experts make their predictions ahead of Alabama-Tennessee
The Third Saturday in October is upon us, and that means it’s time for the Alabama Crimson Tide to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in one of the SEC’s oldest and deepest rivalries. It is already one of the best rivalries in college football, but with all that’s at stake this weekend, it’s one of the most important match-ups of this college football season.
The Tide currently rides a 15-game winning streak against the Volunteers dating back to before Nick Saban’s tenure. However, this Volunteers side may be the best we have seen in some time. They are carried by Heisman Trophy hopeful Hendon Hooker and will have the whole city of Knoxville rocking behind them on Saturday in what will be an insane environment.
Experts have made their picks for his highly anticipated matchup, and it appears to all be leaning in favor of the Crimson Tide.
All-time series history between Alabama and the Tennessee Volunteers
The third Saturday of October is here, and all Alabama Crimson Tide fans know what that means. The Tide will take on their bitter rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers, in a top-10 matchup for all the cigars, literally.
Alabama enters the match-up on a 15-game winning streak against the Volunteers that lasts the entirety of Nick Saban’s tenure in Tuscaloosa. The Tide leads the all-time series 58-38-7, but this may be one of the better teams Tennessee has had as they have a Heisman hopeful at quarterback in Hendon Hooker as well as being ranked as one of the best teams in the country and they remain undefeated.
The toughest part of the match-up for the Tide is the fact that this game will be in Knoxville. Alabama opened up as a 7.5-point favorite and the expectation is that Bryce Young will be close to 100% and play. Even if the Volunteers find a way to win on Saturday, they have a lot of work to do to close the gap in the all-time series history. Here are the results of the last 15 match-ups.
Jada Guinn and Madison Brady return to East Tennessee against Lady Vols.
When the Lady Vols defeated Tennessee Tech this week, a pair of former area high school stars returned home to play at Thompson-Boling Arena.
No. 11 Tennessee (7-0) defeated the Golden Eagles, 76-45, and sophomore Jada Guinn and freshman Madison Brady appeared in the contest for Tennessee Tech (2-5) Wednesday.
Guinn and Brady are now teammates, but they played for rival high schools on two of the top teams in District 3-AAA.
Guinn starred at Oak Ridge, where she scored more than 2,000 points in her high school career. She helped the Lady Wildcats win a pair of district titles and make a state tournament appearance in her career. Guinn totaled six points, three rebounds and three assists for the Golden Eagles in Knoxville.
Brady, who scored four points and had one assist against the Lady Vols, played for Campbell County High School.
She scored more than 1,000 points in her prep career for the Lady Cougars.
A look at the life of Knoxville’s Lee McClung, college football’s early stars.
Harvard and Yale will play each other in football for the 137th time Saturday.
The rivalry will be played for the first time since Nov. 23, 2019. The 2020 contest was not played due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With the Harvard-Yale rivalry returning Saturday, Vols Wire highlights one of the most decorated players in the series.
Knoxville’s Lee McClung was part of Yale’s early football success. McClung played halfback at Yale from 1888-91 and was viewed as an early star in college football and a creator of cut-back runs.
His father, Frank McClung, is the honoree of the University of Tennessee’s McClung Museum and his great-grandfather, Charles McClung, was a surveyor who laid out the city of Knoxville.
McClung scored 494 points while at Yale. His career began before the University of Tennessee first fielded a football team in 1891.
During his career at Yale, the Knoxvillian played against Harvard three times. In the rivalry known as “The Game,” McClung and Yale were 2-1 in contests against the Crimson.
After McClung’s collegiate career with the Bulldogs, he served as head coach for the University of California’s football team in 1892, guiding the Golden Bears to a 2-1-1 record, and then worked in the railroad, insurance and banking professions.
He would then become appointed by President William Howard Taft as Treasurer of the United States on Sept. 23, 1909. His name appeared on currency printed from 1909-12.
Lee McClung, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, Tennessee, April 5, 1963.
A world traveler, McClung would die at age 44 of typhoid on Dec. 19, 1914 in London, England. The Knoxvillian was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He was a consensus All-American during the 1890 and 1891 seasons and won the national championship in 1888 and 1891 under head coach Walter Camp.
Below are clippings of McClung’s time at Yale playing against Harvard in “The Game.”
High school football practice to begin in Knox County.
KNOXVILLE — Area high school football teams can begin full practice sessions Monday morning and the season is slated to kick off the week of Aug. 20.
Practices and the season were put on hold recently when Tennessee Governor Bill Lee extended his state of emergency order until Aug. 29.
On Friday, Lee, who had been working closely with the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association, to develop a contingency plan for high school football and girls soccer, provided an exemption for athletes involved in contact sports so that they could begin.
Without the exemption, football games would have started with an abbreviated schedule on Sept. 18, while soccer games 11 days prior.
The high school golf season started as scheduled and competition is already underway. Cross Country and volleyball have started for practices in preparation for the season.
Football and soccer teams were previously limited to conditioning and non-contact drills.
Knox Co. mandatory face mask order goes against constitutional rights.
KNOXVILLE — The Knox Co. Board of Health passed a motion Wednesday to make wearing a face mask in public indoor spaces mandatory.
The COVID-19 Face Covering Regulation will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 3. It will last until further notice.
Knox Co. Sheriff Tom Spangler released a statement questioning the constitutionality of the COVID-19 mask order.
Message from the Sheriff:
There are serious questions as to the constitutionality of the order made by the health board. My Deputies are sworn to support and defend the constitution. We will rely on the citizens of this community to protect themselves and others in the manner they find appropriate.
Trump discusses cutting TVA’s Jeff Lyash’s ‘ridiculous’ salary under COVID-19 infrastructure package.
WASHINGTON — Tennessee Valley Authority, headquartered in Knoxville, was a topic of discussion during Wednesday’s Coronavirus Task Force press conference.
President Donald Trump was asked about members of his administration and members of Congress that have pointed out that Tennessee Valley Authority President and CEO Jeff Lyash is the top paid federal employee, making roughly $8 million.
“It’s ridiculous,” Trump said of Lyash.
“That’s a quasi-public agency and whoever the head of the agency is, that person makes a lot of money,” Trump continued. “Which is an amazing thing, and when we want them to do something, they’re not there for us. That’s not good.
“They’ve been there for a long time. That’s been a story for a long time.”
April 8, 2020 – Washington, DC, United States: United States President Donald Trump participates in a news briefing with members of the Coronavirus Task Force at the White House. (Chris Kleponis / Pool/Sipa USA)
Trump continued by saying he is in support by reducing a salary like Lyash’s “by a lot” and that it could occur as part of an infrastructure bill.
“Tennessee Valley Authority — I’ve been waiting for somebody to ask me about that,” Trump said. “It’s been bothering me for a long time.”
Lyash was named TVA’s President and CEO in April 2019.
