By Tom Mattingly
It was sometime very late in the evening of Oct. 12, 2002, going into the wee hours of Oct. 13. The Vols had just defeated Arkansas 41-38 in 6 overtimes at Neyland Stadium.
Haywood Harris, unbelievably perky at that hour, was at his typewriter assembling Coach Fulmer’s comments for publication in a former U.T. sports publication called Smokey’s Tale.
A man walked by, looked in Haywood’s general direction, and made this observation about the game. It was unclear whether he knew Haywood personally or only by reputation.
‘Well,” he said, and without provocation, “that was certainly better than a tie.”
That comment caused Haywood, a for-sure football purist, to stop typing, sit up straight in his chair, and respond as only he could.
“What’s wrong with a tie?, he said. It was a good question.
QUESTION: If there are memories of historically great wins or losses, why not assess what was the greatest tie?
Haywood’s remarks echoed the sentiments of many long-time fans, who viewed ties as a legitimate end to the game. They saw overtime as deus ex machina, i.e., a contrived ending.
QUESTION: If there are memories of historically great wins or losses, why not assess what was the greatest tie game in Vol history? Here’s one man’s opinion.
During the 1965 season, when Tennessee and Alabama were deadlocked in the final seconds at Legion Field, the Tide was moving to the South end of the stadium. Alabama had defeated the Vols four years in a row since losing in 1960 – all decisive decisions. Regardless, the Vols were somehow still in the game.
Legend has it that Alabama always won these games, but on this day, the Vols proved they belonged on the national scene in college football. Sports Illustrated had a large color picture from the game spread over parts of two pages in the nest week’s edition.
There was always a special ambience to Legion Field when the Crimson Tide, ball in hand, was heading toward a game-tying or game-clinching score. It wasn’t a place for faint hearts on opposing sidelines.
Let’s take a look at what happened as the clock wound down. George Mooney and former Vol Bob Foxx were on the call that day.
MOONEY: “Thirty-four seconds remain on the clock. Alabama has the ball on the 17- yard line, directly between the goalposts. David Ray set a national scoring record by the foot last year. He’s kicked 9-of-9 extra points, 10-of-10 including today. They’re going to pass the ball. [COMMENT: They didn’t. Stabler ran.]
“Stabler has it. He goes down to the 10, to the 5, brought down at the 4-yard line and fumbles the ball. Let’s see who recovered on the far side of the field. It didn’t go out of bounds. The clock is running, 18, 17…
“They faked it, and he ran to the Tennessee 3. It’s fourth and goal. They’re lining up now. The ball is taken by Stabler. He throws the ball out of bounds with 6 seconds to go. But it was fourth down, and apparently he didn’t realize it.”
FOXX: “Right. It was fourth down, and he didn’t make it.”
MOONEY: “Tennessee takes over. Alabama didn’t realize it was fourth down, and Stabler threw the ball away to stop the clock. David Ray was thinking he was going to have a chance.”
FOXX: “He was practicing.”
MOONEY: “Alabama lost track of the downs. Tennessee has the ball, 6 seconds to go. That was a beautiful fake on third down by Stabler. They had the ball on the 17, but what the young quarterback and the rest of the team forgot was that they had been pushed back by Tennessee from inside the 10.” [COMMENT: The play in question was called “99 Quick.”]
FOXX: “It was first-and-goal.”
MOONEY: “Tennessee ball. Charley Fulton, the quarterback, takes it and the clock is going to run out. Tennessee and Alabama are going to tie. There it is. Tennessee 7, Alabama 7. I’ll be back with some final words in a minute.”
That’s the way it was 61 years ago. It was a great moment for Doug Dickey, a second-year head coach trying to rebuild Tennessee’s football fortunes, and a not-so-hot moment for Bear Bryant, whose Alabama team later won a piece of the national championship.
The Vols finished with 8 wins, 1 loss, and 2 ties. The Vols finished No. 10 in the final AP poll. Team captain Hal Wantland was named the SEC’s best blocker. When asked about Tennessee tying Alabama,” Hal said, “Alabama tied us.”
Alabama historians have recounted how Bryant had one of his police escorts shoot the lock off the East side dressing room door, after finding the door locked. Other accounts have stated that Bryant dared anybody to challenge him and kicked the door in himself.
Memories of wins and losses… and ties, have defined this series, and Vol football overall, across the years. On this day, the Vols were again reaching for the stars against Alabama, the Southeastern Conference, and on the national scene.
