The unlikely story of how the 2007 Alabama-Tennessee football game started Tide streak | Goodbread

Keyboard keynotes ...

The best game John Parker Wilson ever played for Alabama, statistically speaking, anyway, came forth from the worst of circumstances.

On the Third Saturday in October, circumstances can be that way.

Wilson, who now does radio color commentary for the Crimson Tide Sports Network, can't precisely recall when the 2007 Alabama football team learned that five players wouldn't be available against Tennessee due to a suspension. But the former UA quarterback does remember the notice was short enough that the practice week had pretty much been put to bed, so it wasn't as if the team had time to prepare for the absences. And what was worse, two of the five who sat out for an NCAA violation involving impermissible receipt of textbooks — Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis — came from the starting offensive line that protected him.

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"It was like 'OK, here we go,'" Wilson said. "You just treat them like they're injured, next man up, go play ball and just let it rip."

Let it rip, he did.

Wilson threw for a career-high 363 yards in the 41-17 win that began the Crimson Tide's current 15-game win streak in the series, and it was one of two games in his career in which he threw for three or more touchdowns without an interception.

"One of those days where you're just in the zone," he said.

Objectively, Alabama was not the better team over the full season. It finished 7-6, while UT won 10 games and took the SEC East division. But it was much better than UT on the day that mattered, opening the game with a successful onside kick and outplaying the Volunteers from start to finish. It was the signature win of the season, and perhaps the first clear sign that the program's fortunes as a whole were being turned by then-new coach Nick Saban.

"I think everybody was bought in, but that game gave us such a payoff for that," Wilson said.

A year later, UA drummed Tennessee 29-9 in Neyland Stadium, a loss that signaled the end-of-season exit of coach Phil Fulmer and helped vault Alabama into the first of nine SEC Championship Game appearances under Saban.

Personnel puzzle

The Alabama defense's "cheetah package", featuring the pass-rushing trio of Will Anderson, Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell, has drawn a lot of attention this week for its constant harassment of Texas A&M QB Haynes King last Saturday. It's a package designated primarily for third-down, passing situations, but coach Nick Saban said the grouping practices a bit each week on run-stopping as well. That's more relevant against a Tennessee offense that prefers the hurry-up style to prevent substitutions.

"Every team kind of has a breakpoint on when they're not running the ball on third down very much. And we can still stop the run with stunts. But there's different kinds of runs on third down, too, that you have to stop," Saban said. "We work a little each week on those guys being in the game and being able to stop the run, but that's a specialty package for passing situations, and more difficult to play if there's a threat of a run. (If) we have a breakpoint, we'll put them in the game."

Tillman watch

Alabama QB Bryce Young isn't the only key offensive player whose status is uncertain for the Alabama-Tennessee game Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS). The Volunteers' most talented receiver, Cedric Tillman, is hopeful to play after undergoing a "tightrope" surgery for a high ankle sprain last month; he's not played since Sept. 17. Former Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa had the procedure done in 2019. Tillman's availability would make a big difference for UT, although the Vols offense — in scoring 38 and 40 against Florida and LSU, respectively — has been explosive enough without him.

Around the SEC

Alabama-Tennessee will provide a nice measuring stick for divisional strength in each SEC, but on a smaller scale, Mississippi State's game at Kentucky will do the same. UK QB Will Levis will likely return from injury, at least if you take his word for it, and give the Wildcats (4-2) a nice chance to rebound against the best team Mike Leach has had at Mississippi State (5-1). ... Now that Georgia and Tennessee have at least a two-game lead over the rest of the SEC East, it's going to take collapse from both for anyone else in the division to reach the SEC title game. It's early, but nobody else in the East is playing on their level. ... SEC Spread Pick of the Week: Tennessee +7.5. Season: 5-1.

Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama-Tennessee football: Unlikely 2007 win started Tide streak