A great read.
And they nearly made good on Kiffin's prediction, coming closer than anyone to beating the Tide in a season that ended with Saban's first national championship in Tuscaloosa. Alabama escaped 12-10, sealing the victory on the final play when mammoth nose guard Terrence Cody blocked Daniel Lincoln's 44-yard field goal attempt.
Lance Thompson remembers walking past Kiffin on the sideline just before the kick. Lincoln had already missed one field goal and had another one blocked, and he was nursing a painful quadriceps injury. But make or miss, Kiffin was relishing the stress he was putting on his future boss.
"Lane comes up to me and says, '[Lincoln] is hurt, and this is a long kick. It's going to be tough for him to make it. But look across the field at [Saban]. Just look at his face. That in itself is almost worth whatever happens,'" Thompson said.
After the game, Kiffin strolled through the mass of crimson and orange on the Bryant-Denny Stadium field to find Saban for the postgame handshake and said, "Hey, good game, but that's the last time it's going to happen."
https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... -tennessee
And they nearly made good on Kiffin's prediction, coming closer than anyone to beating the Tide in a season that ended with Saban's first national championship in Tuscaloosa. Alabama escaped 12-10, sealing the victory on the final play when mammoth nose guard Terrence Cody blocked Daniel Lincoln's 44-yard field goal attempt.
Lance Thompson remembers walking past Kiffin on the sideline just before the kick. Lincoln had already missed one field goal and had another one blocked, and he was nursing a painful quadriceps injury. But make or miss, Kiffin was relishing the stress he was putting on his future boss.
"Lane comes up to me and says, '[Lincoln] is hurt, and this is a long kick. It's going to be tough for him to make it. But look across the field at [Saban]. Just look at his face. That in itself is almost worth whatever happens,'" Thompson said.
After the game, Kiffin strolled through the mass of crimson and orange on the Bryant-Denny Stadium field to find Saban for the postgame handshake and said, "Hey, good game, but that's the last time it's going to happen."
https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... -tennessee
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