October 18, 2004
Light the Fireworks: It's Alabama-Tennesee Time!
One of the great rivalries in southern college football resumes this week as Alabama travels to Knoxville to take on Tennessee this Saturday afternoon (2:30 CT, CBS). The game will feature a Volunteer squad (5-1 overall, 3-1 SEC) in the driver's seat of the SEC East division, an improving yet injury-riddled Tide team (5-2, 2-2) bent on avenging an overtime loss last season, and two groups of fans that really don't like each other.
The rivalry, approaching its 87th contest, is both historic and hostile. Alabama leads the overall series 43-36-7, but Tennessee has won 8 of the last 9 meetings. Prior to that, the Crimson Tide had won 8 of 9.
The series gained new intensity and bad blood in recent years, as Tennesse head coach Philip Fulmer's role as a secret source against Alabama in an NCAA investigation and resulting sanctions become publicly known. Leading the charge against Fulmer and UT is Montgomery, AL attorney and UA alum Tommy Gallion, who has publicly aired allegations against Fulmer and serves as counsel in multiple lawsuits against Fulmer and the NCAA.
As Fulmer's efforts became known (along with the fact that the NCAA dropped multiple inquiries into alleged wrongdoing at UT), Alabama fans howled while Tennessee fans applauded their coach and declared the two events to be coincidental.
The story gained new life as Fulmer refused to appear at SEC Media Days prior to this season in Birmingham, AL, fearful he would be served with a subpeona in one of Gallion's court cases. He opted to be fined by the SEC rather than risk creating a spectacle which, of course, was exactly what happened when he didn't show.
Of course, when the opening whistle blows and the ball is kicked off, the bad blood off the field will take a back seat to the contest on it. Tennessee will favored to win but will take nothing for granted, especially after a close call in Oxford last weekend where they slipped past Ole Miss 21-17, thanks to a late comeback. Alabama's defense (ranked third nationally in yards allowed), will receive its toughest test yet after a convincing 27-3 win over then-undefeated and 25th-ranked Southern Miss, as will its inexperienced offense that has lost the services of both its starting quarterback and tailback to season ending injuries.
For the Vols, the game is another obstacle on the road to a possible SEC title. For the Tide, it is an opportunity to vault its rebuilding program back into the national spotlight (for good reasons) and give Coach Mike Shula his first signature win. For Tommy Gallion and the legal entanglements of Philip Fulmer, the game means little. To the fans of both teams, the game means bragging rights and a whole lot more.
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