The Tennessee Volunteers won the rivalry for the first time in 16 years by pulling off a huge 52-49 upset against the dominant Alabama Crimson Tide.
One Vols player even went over and above by “gutting it out.”
Midway in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s thrilling game at Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium, Tennessee offensive lineman Jeremiah Crawford leaned out of the huddle carelessly and puked on his home field.
His team was down by seven points. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound senior just raised his head and waved towards his opponents across the line of scrimmage as if to say, “You don’t want to mess with this,” rather than stepping away from the field of play or even wiping his mouth.
Although it’s impossible to say for sure, Crawford’s inventive antics may have been the difference as the Vols knotted the game with a touchdown throw to Jalin Hyatt on the same drive. Tennessee finally achieved its long-awaited win a short while later.
Following the game, Crawford addressed his “puke and rally” on social media, which was documented for everyone to see. He praised the Volunteers supporters for “After thanking the crowd for “all the support,” they said, “Vol fam didn’t take a break tonight”. I wasn’t going to do it either.”
Additionally, he has speculated about prospective name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements that may result from the currently trending event. Crawford went so far as to tag TUMS and Pepto-Bismol in an effort to get the companies’ attention on Twitter.
Before playing back-to-back games against ranked opponents, Crawford and his unbeaten team will play UT Martin on Saturday. On October 29, Tennessee will host the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats before traveling to Georgia the following week to face the No. 1 Bulldogs.