Posted on | October 19, 2025 | No Comments
Zabien Brown en route to the end zone.
Saturday night, my wife and daughter-in-law were upstairs watching The Sound of Music while my brother and I were downstairs watching Alabama play Tennessee. And right before halftime, Kirby and I started yelling so loud that the neighbors might have called 911.
Alabama had taken a 9-7 lead midway through the second quarter when Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar, caught in his own end zone, was called for intentional grounding, giving the Crimson Tide two points on a safety. On the ensuing Alabama possession, QB Ty Simpson completed three passes to get the Tide down to Tennessee’s two-yard line, where Jam Miller punched it in, and now Alabama was leading 16-7. The Volunteers didn’t quit, though, and drove downfield 74 yards on their next possession, coming up on third-and-goal at the ’Bama one-yard line with nine seconds remaining before the half. Tennessee called their final timeout, and on the next play, lined up in a run formation, but they didn’t fool the Crimson Tide defense, which didn’t buy the run-fake on the play-action pass. Aguilar threw toward his tight end at the front pylon, but Alabama cornerback Zabien Brown jumped the route for the interception.
My brother and I weren’t the only Alabama fans yelling at the top of our lungs. Brown streaked down the sideline, and as he neared the Tennessee 40, one Volunteer player raced after him with a chance to make a touchdown saving tackle. Volunteer running back DeSean Bishop dived at Brown’s heels near the 20, but Brown made a high-step move to avoid the tackle and the capacity crowd inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, which was already roaring like a hurricane, added at least 10 more decibels of joy. Brown streaked into the end zone for the touchdown and, with the extra-point kick, Alabama took a 23-7 lead to halftime.
THE DUECE IS LOOOOOOSE! ??@zabien_brown
?: ABC pic.twitter.com/LHgM2IUrUC
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 19, 2025
Here’s the call from Chris Stewart on Zabien?Brown’s 99-yard pick-six for Alabama against Tennessee? just before the half— Courtesy of the Crimson Tide Sports Network. pic.twitter.com/gOSS8FuptA
— Auburn Jokes® (@TheAuburnJokes) October 19, 2025
The game was never really in doubt after that, and Alabama went on to win 37-20. “Alabama became the only team in SEC history to beat four straight ranked opponents with no open dates,” as ESPN reported, and the Crimson Tide, which entered the game ranked 6th, moved up to No. 4 in the rankings released Sunday, as both Miami (previously No. 2) and Ole Miss (previously No. 5) suffered losses this weekend.
The third Saturday in October is always the Alabama-Tennessee game, and this particular rivalry requires some explanation. Only two rivals, Georgia and Georgia Tech, are mentioned in the Alabama fight song, which does not deign to take notice of Auburn (opponent in the annual “Iron Bowl,” played the Saturday after Thanksgiving). My dad was an Alabama alumni (Class of 1951) and once I asked him why we hated Tennessee so bad. He explained it went back to a game in Knoxville where Tennessee “ran up the score.” Years later, I checked the history of the rivalry and was shocked to learn that game was played in 1931 — Tennessee beat Alabama 25-0 — when my dad was just seven years old!
Talk about tradition, man, that’s something. Bitter memories of ancient grievances — a grudge held by succeeding generations — are part of what makes college football such a special sport. Zabien Brown has writ his name in crimson flame, and ’Bama is now in the national title hunt.
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