This is the Alabama-Tennessee Game That Gene Stallings Remembers Most
Former Alabama head coach Gene Stallings stood on the sideline seven times for the Third Saturday in October rivalry, but there's one game that clearly stands out from the rest.
Stallings recalled the 1990 Alabama-Tennessee game during an interview with Ryan Folwer on The Game. When asked which meeting with the Vols stands out the most, Stallings took him back to that first year as the head coach of the Crimson Tide.
As a bit of an unproven coach, Stallings career began with three straight losses in 1990. The team would respond with two wins against inferior opponents before facing an undefeated Tennessee team.
"We were playing good but we just couldn't win," Stallings said. "Then we beat Vanderbilt. Tennessee was ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country, I can't remember which. We took the team to Knoxville.
"It was a great football game. The score was 6-6. They were going to kick the field goal and Stacy Harrison blocked it and it went back in our direction about 20 or 25 yards. Philip Doyle then stepped up and kicked the field goal. We won the game 9-6."
Alabama had won four straight in the series, but on that day, very few people expected them to win.
"I think that they were maybe 20 or 25-point favorites playing there in Knoxville and we won the football game. That was a big win for Alabama."
It proved to be a huge win for the program. The following year, Alabama went 11-1 before winning the national championship in 1992 and Stallings' legacy was cemented.
"In my opinion, that particular game sort of kick-started my career at Alabama. It helped us recruiting and it certainly helped me. That's the Tennessee-Alabama game that stands out to me."