Updated October 17, 2026, 11:38 p.m. ET
- Josh Heupel can count on his Tennessee defense.
- “Keelon Russell’s Heisman campaign ends in loss to Tennessee”.
- Kalen DeBoer cannot be trusted as Alabama’s coach.
KNOXVILLE, TN – One word describes this Tennessee upset.
“Suffocating,” Josh Heupel said of his team’s 26-10 win over Alabama.
This one descriptor says it all.
Stifling, this Tennessee defense is.
Texas has already learned that. Auburn too. Now it was Alabama’s turn.
The No. 14 Vols sucked the air out of Alabama.
They stifled Keelon Russell’s Heisman campaign.
They cut off the oxygen to No. 7 Alabama, topping the shortlist of national championship contenders. Forget the national title, Alabama, after two losses, will have a hard time qualifying for the playoffs.
“We have a great defensive team, one of the best in the country,” Vols linebacker Jeremiah Telander said.
This upheaval changes many narratives, but it also cements Tennessee’s identity.
The Vols are winning on defense. Who would have thought that?
When Tennessee athletic director Danny White hired Heupel, he described the former quarterback turned high-performance coach as an “architect of explosive offenses.”
It used to be true.
Today, Heupel is winning on defense, just like he did when Tennessee reached the playoffs two years ago.
This is the Heupel method.
“Elite defensive performance,” Heupel said after his team forced four turnovers, made two stops on fourth down and held Alabama to 201 yards.
You can’t trust Alabama. This result reaffirms that
What is Alabama’s identity with Kalen DeBoer?
In a word, schizophrenic.
From week to week, the only thing you can safely expect from Alabama is the unexpected.
A few weeks ago, DeBoer’s popularity reached an all-time high after a 5-0 start. Even in a loss to Georgia, Alabama earned respect for how hard it fought, and DeBoer showed a mean streak on the sideline that Bammers has been eager to see since Nick Saban retired.
For a moment, DeBoer appeared on the verge of making it at Alabama, but life happens quickly in the SEC, and all the goodwill he had accumulated is now floating down the Tennessee River. So long.
In the first half, Tennessee continued to settle for field goals.
Better than nothing. That’s what Alabama got in the first quarter. Nada.
Also in the third and fourth quarters, Alabama had nothing. Zippo. Squatter.
Put it this way: Before the game, Russell had a Heisman campaign and Tennessee faced questions about its quarterback situation.
At the buzzer, Tennessee backup-turned-starter George MacIntyre had 197 passing yards to Russell’s 147, and the Vols also sacked Russell five times.
So much for the pre-match stories.
Kalen DeBoer: This is about to get “uncomfortable” for Alabama. No joke
Then Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles danced a jig, and Vols players, coaches and fans smoked cigars, as is tradition for the winning team in this rivalry.
DeBoer had a message for his players that he delivered while seated at a folding table during the losing team’s press conference.
“It’s going to be really uncomfortable,” DeBoer said.
Uncomfortable for DeBoer too.
He’s not in the hot seat. Not after an off-season extension which favored his buyout.
But after 35 games in the DeBoer era, you still can’t trust his teams.
They will dazzle you one week, disappoint you the next.
At times, the Alabama product looks sharp. A blowout win at overrated Mississippi State two weeks ago became one of those moments.
At other times, Alabama seems unworthy of its brand name.
Tennessee begins the habit of smoking cigars at Neyland Stadium.
“Now the expectation is” to beat Alabama, said Heupel, who has three straight wins against Alabama in home games.
Heupel isn’t one to make bold quotes or make grand proclamations, so his assessment that Tennessee expects to beat Bama counts as his version of a spicy victory lap.
Alabama fans I spoke with before the game expressed unease about this game, perhaps with memories of losses to Tennessee in 2022 and ’24 still ingrained in their minds.
Now comes a new disappointment.
In a stunning scene, dozens of Alabama fans began heading toward the exits with five minutes remaining.
Minutes later, the stadium began to shake as Tennessee fans chanted “Rocky Top” after a touchdown that provided breathing room.
In fact, a 16-point lead with the Tennessee defense protecting it was the end of the game.
“People think they can come into our house against our defense and do whatever they want,” Vols linebacker Amare Campbell said, “and that’s something that’s not going to happen.”
You can’t score when you can’t breathe.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s lead national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast “College Football Unfiltered.” Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on @btopppmeyer.
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