Vols players soak in memorable postgame atmosphere following Alabama win

Omari Thomas immediately headed for the student section in the southeast corner of Neyland Stadium.

The Tennessee defensive lineman didn't even have to see how Chase McGrath's field goal kick finished.

Before Thomas reached his destination, the sea of orange-clad humanity had already poured onto the field. That was confirmation enough that McGrath's kick had made it through the uprights and that the Vols had beaten Alabama for the first time in 16 years.

It was a celebration that Neyland Stadium had been waiting decades to host and one that anybody inside its walls that night will remember for the rest of their lives.

"I was at a loss for words, honestly," Thomas recalled. "Watching it and the videos and all that, it's like, ‘Wow, I'm really a part of that.’ … It was amazing. Just in that moment, I had so much confidence in Chase. As soon as he kicked it, I didn't even look at the ball. … I just ran for the student section. That's how much confidence I had in Chase. Just at a loss for words in that moment."

Amid the pandemonium on Shields-Watkins Field and to the background music of the band Alabama's "Dixieland Delight," fans — both young and old — lit up cigars. The players did, too.

Cigars are the reward for the winner of the "Third Saturday in October" rivalry game that has been played 115 times as of last Saturday night. For some fans, it had been 16 years since they last relished in a win over the Crimson Tide with a long, sweet, victorious toke. For others, it was the first time.

For Tennessee's players and coaches, the opportunity to take part in the unmatched pageantry and tradition that is college football in the South was far too good to pass up.

"Yeah, I absolutely smoked a cigar," McGrath, whose 40-yard field goal as time expired secured the win, said after the game. "For the fanbase, I had to smoke a cigar with them. It was such an awesome memory. To get that win for the fanbase, for the guys, for the team was a blessing."

"I smoked it slow, but it was dang good," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. "It was a great night, so much fun. From former players to current players, guys that just finished a year ago that are a huge part of this culture and what this program has been able to do this year — just that trajectory from last year. Man, it was a great night."

Some players climbed on the shoulders of fans for a victory lap, while others stopped to pose for pictures, grinning ear to ear with a stogie in-between their teeth. They bumped shoulders with teary-eyed fans that were likely a part of similar scenes after big wins against Alabama in 1982 and 1984 and Florida in1998, as students and alumni tried to push through the crowd with the goalpost that was formerly planted in the north endzone.

Tight end Princeton Fant, who scored a first half touchdown in the game, went and found his family first. He wanted to share the moment with his mother.

"It's a blessing. Just my mom, that's my No. 1 supporter," Fant said. "That's somebody that I do this for, play football for. Just being able to have her there, she was proud — and that's the No. 1 thing I want to do is make her proud."

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