University of Tennessee Athletics
Jones, Wyche Rose to the Occasion Against Crimson Tide
October 22, 2003 | Football
Oct. 22, 2003
In the history of the Tennessee-Alabama series, there have been a number of great moments, with players on both sides stepping to the front when their number was called.
As Gen. Neyland once observed, you never really knew about a player until he had competed against Alabama. Two Tennessee "Legends of the Game" had decisive roles in Vol victories over the Tide.
In 1967, Tennessee was down to third-string quarterback Bubba Wyche when Alabama week came around, what with Dewey Warren and Charlie Fulton sidelined with injuries. No one knew what to expect when the Vols headed for Birmingham's Legion Field Oct. 21.
What happened was the Vols took their first drive of the game in for a touchdown and Tennessee ended up on the good end of a 24-13 victory, the first over the Tide since 1960 and first of three straight wins against Alabama for the Vols under Doug Dickey. Tennessee went on to win the SEC title and attain a No. 2 national ranking. A junior from Atlanta, Wyche had played sparingly before getting his shot a week earlier against Georgia Tech. He was a starter in 1968 and led another game-opening drive against the Tide that helped the Vols to a 10-9 victory.
In 1985, Tennessee led Alabama 16-14 in the fourth quarter, but Vol quarterback Tony Robinson was on the planks with a knee injury and head coach Johnny Majors put the game on the shoulders of his defense.
Alabama was headed goalward, to the north end of Legion Field, when Tide quarterback Mike Shula, now the head man at Tuscaloosa, dropped back to pass. Vol defensive end Dale Jones, the pride of Cleveland, Tenn., was bearing down on him as he released the ball and Jones made an improbable interception at point-blank range. The Vols held on to win the game on their way to the SEC title. Tennessee defeated Miami in the 1986 Sugar Bowl to cap one of the most amazing seasons in Tennessee history.
Bubba now owns Uptown Greenery, a landscaping business in Atlanta, while Jones, a Vol captain in 1986 and an All-SEC selection in 1985 and 1986, is an assistant coach at Appalachian State University, as defensive line coach and special teams coordinator. He was the American Football Coaches Association's special teams coordinator of the year in 2002.
Tom Mattingly
