Signing you in

“Suffocating,” Josh Heupel said of his team’s 26-10 takedown of Alabama.

Texas already learned that. So did Auburn. Now, it was Alabama’s turn.

They snuffed the oxygen out of No. 7 Alabama being near the top of the shortlist of national championship contenders. Forget the national title, two-loss Alabama will struggle to make the playoff.

“We have a great squad on defense, one of the best in the nation,” Vols linebacker Jeremiah Telander said.

This upset changes so many narratives, but it also cements Tennessee’s identity.

When Tennessee athletic director Danny White hired Heupel, he described the former quarterback turned high-scoring coach as an “architect of explosive offenses.”

Now, Heupel wins with defense, just as he did when Tennessee made the playoff two years ago.

“Elite defensive performance,” Heupel said after his team forced four turnovers, made two fourth-down stops, and limited Alabama to 201 yards.

One week to the next, the only thing to safely expect from Alabama is the unexpected.

A couple of weeks ago, DeBoer’s approval ratings hit an all-time high after a 5-0 start. Even in a loss to Georgia, Alabama earned respect for how hard it battled, and DeBoer showed a mean streak on the sideline that Bammers had ached to see since Nick Saban’s retirement.

For a whisker of a moment, DeBoer appeared on the verge of an Alabama breakthrough, but life comes at you fast in the SEC, and any goodwill he’d built up is now floating down the Tennessee River. So long.

Better than nothing. That’s what Alabama got in the first quarter. Nada.

In the third and fourth quarters, too, Alabama got zilch. Zippo. Squat.

Put it like this: Before the game, Russell had a Heisman campaign, and Tennessee faced questions about its quarterback situation.

By the buzzer, Tennessee’s backup-turned-starter George MacIntyre had 197 passing yards to Russell’s 147, and the Vols sacked Russell five times, too.

Afterward, Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles danced a jig, and Vols players, coaches and fans smoked cigars, as is tradition for the winning side in this rivalry.

DeBoer had a message for his players that he delivered while seated at a folding table in the losing team’s news conference.

He’s not on the hot seat. Not after an offseason extension that juiced his buyout.

But, 35 games into the DeBoer era, you still cannot trust his teams.

At times, Alabama's product looks snappy. A blowout win at overrated Mississippi State two weeks ago became one of those times.

Tennessee is starting to make a habit of smoking cigars at Neyland Stadium.

“Now, there’s an expectation” of beating Alabama, said Heupel, who owns three straight wins against Alabama in games played on his home turf.

Heupel isn’t one for bold quotes or grand proclamations, so his assessment that Tennessee expects to beat Bama counts as his version of a spicy victory lap.

In a stunning scene, scores of Alabama fans began heading for the exits with five minutes to play.

Just a couple of minutes later, the stadium began to shake as Tennessee fans sang “Rocky Top” after a touchdown that provided some breathing room.

Actually, a 16-point lead with Tennessee's defense protecting it equaled game over.

“People think they can come into our house against our defense and do whatever they want to do," Vols linebacker Amare Campbell said, "and that’s something that’s not going to happen."

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.