Volunteers-Tide: Lane Kiffin Loses Chance To Stand Tall in Close Loss to Alabama

The boys in white and orange stood tall Saturday and played their hearts out against a team no one gave them much chance of beating. The Tennessee Volunteers refused to give up, and came within four seconds of beating the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Poll—Alabama.

I was ready to write a glowing article about how I might have been wrong about Lane Kiffin, how he rallied his boys and they, in turn, rallied around him. With seconds left to go, he was cheerleading the players and they were circled up, jumping up and down, while the Alabama team stood and intently listened as the coaches gave instructions on how to play this out.

This wasn't a case of studious athletes over emotional ones, but a win by a team driven by sheer will over an emotionally charged team.

Tennessee players were dancing with their coach, jumping up and down at their good fortunes late in the game. A rare Mark Ingram fumble and an also-rare Tide miscue on defense allowed a touchdown, not to mention a "chances are against it" offsides kick had the team pumped. The Alabama players, meanwhile, listened to their coaches, sucked up their guts, and played on last play driven by sheer will.

That play was "max block." It is a play designed to rush all 11 men at the kicker, totally selling out for the block. Had it been a fake, no one was left to cover any potential receiver. Nick Saban went for the all-or-nothing gamble.

Look at the picture at the top of the article. Alabama players had sold out to the extent that both outside men ran full speed to the kicker's foot and collided after just missing the ball.

The resulting collision left Javier Arenas unconscious for a few seconds. He told me in a postgame interview he wasn't sure what had happened until he realized his teammates were dancing and the ringing in his ears quieted down enough to hear the fans celebrating.

While he and the other outside man missed, big Terrence Cody did not. He swatted the ball down like Wilt Chamberlain defending the goal against a midget. Had he missed, there's a photo of Julio Jones looking like he's standing on a ladder ready to block it.

Every player in crimson sold out, and the result paid off. But every person was also aware of a valiant game the Vols had just played, and this was Kiffin's time to elevate himself in the minds of many rival and Tennessee fans.

All he had to do was graciously say, "I'm so proud of these boys for not quitting and taking the No. 1 team to the last play of the game. People better know, Tennessee is coming back and we're only getting better."

Instead, he whined and complained about Terrance Cody taking his helmet off perhaps before the whistle blew. He whined and complained about the number of penalties that the Vols got that day, and he whined and complained that Alabama didn't get enough penalties.

Then he crossed the line, suggesting the officials had an agenda along with the SEC that wants to see an undefeated Alabama and an undefeated Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

Not only did all his postgame whining cause him to lose any luster he had earned from this game, but it also got him sanctioned and he came within a hair of being suspended for a game for his comments by Mike Slive and the SEC Commission.

He had a chance to stand tall Saturday, and once again his young, "baby throwing another tantrum" mouth cost him the chance to do so.

When informed in the Alabama press room what kind of comments were coming from Kiffin, one of the Tennessee reporters covering our press conference just looked at me and said, "Oh God, when will that boy learn to just shut his mouth?"

The Alabama coaches and players decided to sell out for the block on that final play, and Lane Kiffin decided to sell out his team's heroic performance with whining and conspiracy theories.

That could be why one is headed to another SEC Championship Game, and the other will struggle to simply make a bowl game.