Will the Third Saturday in October Ever Be Replayed on the First Saturday in December?

By Eric Taylor

When former SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer added Arkansas and South Carolina as the 11th and 12th team to the conference in 1990 so he could stage the first ever conference championship game, anyone would have bet the family pet that Alabama and Tennessee would meet in at least one championship game through 2011. 

They haven’t met once.

Former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer had a vision that many thought was blurred. It turned out okay.

Not only that, but the ‘Tide and the Vols have played in 60% of the championship games over the last 20 years. Just not against each other. 

Arkansas quarterback Barry Looney floated left-handed off-speed pitches all afternoon that somehow found receivers instead of Tennessee defensive backs’ hands. The plan may have been to throw every pass so slow that — like a hitter in baseball looking for a fastball — Tennessee defenders would get way out in front of the pass and whiff on the interception.

Whatever it was, it worked.

Alabama’s win over Florida in The Swamp gave Tennessee new life in the East, but the Vols’ trip to Fayetteville would be fatal to the season.

Clint Stoerner avenged this 1998 fumble against Tennessee the next year, sealing the Vols' second place finish in the SEC East behind Florida. 

All LSU had to do on the first Saturday in December was convince Les Miles not to move to Ann Arbor, beat Tennessee to win the SEC, and hope 46 teams ahead of them in the BCS lost. Check. Check. And check. 

But wait. Alabama is only allowed to play Florida in the SEC Championship. That's another phenomenon to explore.

On another note, the inevitable UT Buttchugger costume is here. Thanks to @willisrush who sent in this picture of his buddy in Dallas. 

Written by
Clay Travis is the founder of the fastest growing national multimedia platform, OutKick, that produces and distributes engaging content across sports and pop culture to millions of fans across the country. OutKick was created by Travis in 2011 and sold to the Fox Corporation in 2021. One of the most electrifying and outspoken personalities in the industry, Travis hosts OutKick The Show where he provides his unfiltered opinion on the most compelling headlines throughout sports, culture, and politics. He also makes regular appearances on FOX News Media as a contributor providing analysis on a variety of subjects ranging from sports news to the cultural landscape. Throughout the college football season, Travis is on Big Noon Kickoff for Fox Sports breaking down the game and the latest storylines. Additionally, Travis serves as a co-host of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, a three-hour conservative radio talk program syndicated across Premiere Networks radio stations nationwide. Previously, he launched OutKick The Coverage on Fox Sports Radio that included interviews and listener interactions and was on Fox Sports Bet for four years. Additionally, Travis started an iHeartRadio Original Podcast called Wins & Losses that featured in-depth conversations with the biggest names in sports. Travis is a graduate of George Washington University as well as Vanderbilt Law School. Based in Nashville, he is the author of Dixieland Delight, On Rocky Top, and Republicans Buy Sneakers Too.