Ubben: ‘Heaven’ — following the goal posts on euphoric night of greatness on

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The fans came down in droves. The goal posts came down in pieces.

Chase McGrath’s 40-yard field goal skittered above the crossbar and between the uprights, and everything Tennessee feared was fantasy — or a bygone era — became reality.

No. 6 Tennessee 52, No. 3 Alabama 49.

The Vols are back. For real this time. And every goal a team can dream of is in front of a Tennessee team that went 7-5 a year ago after losing two dozen players to the transfer portal.

Hendon Hooker needed two plays and 13 seconds to gain 45 yards and turn Alabama kicker Will Reichard’s missed 50-yard field goal into an opportunity of a lifetime for the Vols. They took advantage on the strength of McGrath’s leg, Hooker’s arm and an impossible five-touchdown, 207-yard night from junior wide receiver Jalin Hyatt.

The 15-game losing streak to rival Alabama and Nick Saban, the king of college football? Dead. More than a decade of futility and a 17-year absence from the top five of the polls? Over.

Tennessee’s greatest hopes and dreams, however, are very much alive, and we may be witnessing only the beginning of a special season on Rocky Top. The fans felt it as they poured onto the field.