When Alabama responded with a field goal attempt, the more confident Tennessee struck again. Iamaleava, who overthrew deep receivers twice in the first half, connected on a perfectly thrown deep ball to Dont'e Thornton for a 55-yard gain that set up Sampson's second short-scoring run. The Tide quickly responded with another touchdown drive.

Tennessee's game-winning touchdown came from another precise throw from Iamaleava. Chris Brazzell made a diving catch in the right corner of the end zone to put the Vols ahead by four points with 5:52 to play. They added a field goal to make up the final score.

Tennessee's offense, and especially Iamaleava, deserves credit for their resilience after one mishap after another with three turnovers in the first half. And praise the Tennessee crowd for relentlessly cranking up the volume. The constant noise brought little relief to Alabama's offense. Neither did UT’s defense.

But as the defense faltered, the offense rallied from its three-game lull.

The win capped a strange month for the Vols, who have an open date before playing Kentucky on Nov. 2 at Neyland Stadum. They lost as 13.5-point favorites to the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and needed overtime to hold off Florida on their home field.