Josh Heupel could see the look in Chase McGrath's eyes.

The Tennessee head coach walked over to console his kicker who was sitting on the bench just seconds after missing a critical second-half extra point in a game where the margin for error was razor thin, but Heupel could tell that McGrath didn't need a pep talk.

The Vols had just recaptured some of the momentum that helped them build an 18-point lead before Alabama stormed back to tie it up. Instead of going back up 7, however, McGrath's PAT hooked left, and the Crimson Tide drove back down the field to take their first lead of the game late in the third quarter.

To beat Alabama for the first time in 15 years, Tennessee seemingly needed a perfect game. If past history was any indication, mistakes like McGrath's would be too deflating. But past history didn't matter. Not on this night.

In an end fitting of a true redemption story, McGrath got his second chance — helped along by a memorable drive from quarterback Hendon Hooker — to get into field goal range with two seconds left.

The ensuing kick from 40 yards out wobbled into the air and may have even been tipped. It took what seemed like an eternity to reach its destination, but once it cleared the crossbar, there was no doubt. The streak was over. Tennessee won, 52-49, and pandemonium reigned.

"Obviously, middle-part of the football game, (the missed extra point), one that (McGrath) wants to have back," Heupel said. "I went over and talked to him over on the bench and he gave me the look like, 'Get away from me, I'm good. You don't need to talk to me.' He's a competitor. For him to go out tonight and finish it the way that he did, it's fitting. Really proud of that."

McGrath didn't want to talk about it because he had already put it out of mind. He knew he had to. He was confident the opportunity to make up for it was coming — and it proved prophetic.

"Obviously, it's something you don't want to happen," McGrath said in the postgame press conference, still wearing his uniform nearly an hour after the game had ended. "That's something that has never really happened to me. But just wipe it and onto the next kick. I knew there was going to be another opportunity later on in the game, so I really just tried to move on from that and focus on the next opportunity."

Being the hero in a big rivalry game is just a part of McGrath's story since arriving in Knoxville by way of USC in early 2021.

He missed most of his sophomore season with the Trojans after tearing a ligament in his right knee during a game against Texas in 2018. He redshirted and returned to the starting role in 2019, then didn't play at all during the 2020 season that was shortened due to COVID.

At Tennessee, he saw opportunity. He was one of the first players that Heupel and his new staff recruited out of the transfer portal when they took the job, but a connection with former USC teammate Velus Jones Jr., who had already been on the Vols' roster for a year, was the biggest factor.

Now playing for the Chicago Bears, Jones had an indirect hand in Tennessee beating Alabama. For that, he's owed a cigar.

"I wanted to come (to Tennessee) because of the tradition here, how amazing the fan base is here, especially what the coaching staff brought in," McGrath said. "My friend Velus Jones was here, who I lived with for two years at USC. We were really close. That was a big reason why I came here, and it was a seamless transition."

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