EDITOR’S NOTE: Every day until Aug. 29, Creg Stephenson is counting down significant numbers in Alabama football history, both in the lead-up to the 2025 football season and in commemoration of the Crimson Tide’s first national championship 100 years ago. The number could be attached to a year, a uniform number or even a football-specific statistic. We hope you enjoy.

Winning a national championship sometimes takes a little bit of luck, particularly among teams that finish undefeated.

That certainly was the case for Alabama’s 2009 team, which was very, very fortunate to beat an average Tennessee team in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 24. If not for All-America defensive tackle Terrence Cody getting in between two field goals — including one on the game’s final snap — the Crimson Tide’s championship dreams might have been dashed.

“I just knew we had to make a play,” Cody said. “I had to make a play. We couldn’t wait on anybody else to make a play. If they would have made the field goal, it would’ve been a tight game or they would’ve won it, so I dug down deep and told myself I was about to block it. The ball snapped, I got a good jump off the line, pushed the guy back and just stuck my arm up.”

The play would be immortalized as “Rocky Block” and would keep Alabama undefeated on the way to its first national championship in 17 years and the first of six under coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide also had close calls against LSU (pulling away late for a 24-15 win) and Auburn (scoring in the final minute for a 26-21 victory), but none were as precarious as the annual rivalry game with Tennessee.

For more than 56 minutes of game time, however, Alabama appeared to be in control and on its way to a workmanlike — if low-scoring — win. The Crimson Tide led 12-3 after Leigh Tiffin’s 49-yard field goal with 6:31 left, then forced a three-and-out and punt on Tennessee’s next possession.

Alabama had a first down at its 38 when star running back Mark Ingram — the eventual Heisman Trophy winner — fumbled the ball away for the first time all year after a hard hit from Tennessee safety Eric Berry. The Volunteers took over with 3:29 to play, and soon after cashed in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Crompton to Gerald Jones on third down to make the score 12-10.

The Volunteers then recovered an onside kick at their 41, and got two first downs to move the ball to the Alabama 27 as the clock ticked inside 30 seconds. Tennessee’s Montario Hardesty lost a yard on first down, then Crompton spiked the ball to stop the clock with four seconds remaining.

That brought on the field goal unit and kicker Daniel Lincoln, whose 43-yard attempt had also been blocked by Cody early in the fourth quarter. This attempt came from 44 yards away, and again the 6-foot-4, 360-pound Cody burst through the line and got a big paw on the football.

Cody began to celebrate wildly, tossing his helmet into the air as he did so. Though CBS Sports’ Gary Danielson worried Cody might be called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for removing his helmet (not an unheard-of idea), there were no flags, and Alabama had its stunning victory.

Here’s video of the block:

Saban appeared relieved after the game, but also recognized his team might have gotten away with one. “You talk about how fragile a season is, in terms of you’re controlling the game even though you may say ‘you’re winning ugly’ or whatever,” Saban said. “We’re still leading 12-3 and in total control of the game with three 3:29 left and the ball. That’s how fragile a season can be. Make one mistake and you have to go overcome it and I hope that there’s a lot of lessons for our team to learn from this and I think our focus needs to be on improving.”

The blocked field goal against Tennessee was a career-defining moment for Cody, a little-known prospect out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Alabama’s now-legendary 2008 recruiting class. Nicknamed “Mount Cody” by Rivals.com’s Chase Goodbread prior to the season — a moniker that stuck with him throughout his career — the massive Cody was an instant impact player for the Crimson Tide, earning a starting job in preseason camp and totaling four tackles and a tackle for loss in the opening win over Clemson.

Though he suffered a knee injury at midseason, Cody was a first-team All-SEC and All-America pick in 2008. With “Mount Cody” plugging up the middle, the Crimson Tide allowed just 78.8 yards rushing per game.

As far as one guy who has changed our team more than any, you’d have to go with Terrence,” offensive lineman Mike Johnson told the New York Times that December.

After toying with the idea of entering the 2009 NFL draft, Cody was also an All-SEC and All-America pick as a senior. Alabama’s defense was even better that year, with linebacker Rolando McClain and cornerback Javier Arenas joining him on the All-America team.

Cody was a third-round pick by the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens in 2010, and played five years in the league. He was part of the Ravens’ Super Bowl championship run after the 2012 season.

But no play he ever made was bigger than the one to save Alabama’s 2009 victory over Tennessee, and its perfect record on the way to a national championship.

Coming Monday: Our countdown to kickoff continues with No. 61, an infamous incident during a championship season.