No. 10 Tennessee rallied from a scoreless first half to beat No. 7 Alabama 24-17 at Neyland Stadium on Saturday in the latest chapter of their Third Saturday in October rivalry.

It’s a major boost to the Vols’ chances at making the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) took a 21-17 lead on Nico Iamaleava's 16-yard touchdown pass to a diving Chris Brazzell with 5:52 remaining.

Alabama (5-2, 2-2) failed on a fourth-down play with 1:48 remaining. And UT added a 41-yard field goal by Max Gilbert to extend its lead to 24-17 with 1:30 left.

Then UT safety Will Brooks, a walk-on, intercepted Alabama's Jalen Milroe to seal the win.

The Vols beat Nick Saban's Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium in 2022. They knocked off Kalen DeBoer's squad this time amid a deafening sellout crowd.

The Vols now enter their second open week of the season. They’ll play Kentucky on Nov. 2 at Neyland Stadium.

But let’s wrap up this win over Alabama with these five takeaways.

Dylan Sampson TDs got Tennessee back in it

After a scoreless first half, UT scored two TDs in the third quarter for a 14-10 lead.

Dylan Sampson, the SEC rushing and scoring leader, notched both TDs. He rushed for 53 yards on four carries on a 91-yard drive, including the 2-yard score.

And Sampson scored a 2-yard TD one play after Nico Iamaleava completed a 55-yard pass to Dont’e Thornton.

The lead didn’t last long. Alabama responded with a 75-yard TD drive to go ahead 17-14 in what turned into a back-and-forth fourth quarter.

Sampson finished with 139 yards rushing on 26 carries and two TDs. He has 17 rushing TDs, one shy of Gene McEver's single-season UT record set in 1929.

Nico Iamaleava started slow but recovered

Iamaleava had an up-and-down outing. He struggled mightily in the first half and recovered in the second half.

He finished 14-of-27 passing for 194 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 44 yards.

Iamaleava was off target on four of his first seven passes. Two overthrown deep tosses were the costliest because they would’ve gone for touchdowns. And he threw an interception near the goal line to squander a scoring opportunity in the second quarter.

Iamaleava also had a 27-yard run and the long pass to Thornton, which set up Sampson's two TDs. Then he hit Brazzell on the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.

Vols offense had another scoreless first half

UT committed three turnovers in the first half for first time in coach Josh Heupel’s four-year tenure. And it came away scoreless in four drives that ended in Alabama territory.

The result was UT’s third straight scoreless first half for the first time since 1963. That had never happened once in Heupel’s tenure before this stretch.

UT drove to the Alabama 18-yard line on its opening drive, but Sampson fumbled for the first time in his career.

UT cornerback Jermod McCoy intercepted a Milroe pass in the end zone and returned it 54 yards. But Iamaleava overthrew a wide-open Squirrel White for what would’ve been a TD pass, and Max Gilbert missed a 53-yard field goal.

Iamaleava missed one play due to an injury, and backup quarterback Gaston Moore threw an interception. After Iamaleava returned, he threw an interception near the goal line to squander another scoring opportunity. And UT also missed a 50-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

Stingy defense kept Tennessee in the game

As bad as UT’s offense played in the first half, its defense was just as good.

The Vols pressured Milroe, made stops on third down and picked off a pass in the end zone.

Alabama had three three-and-out possessions in the first half. It committed that turnover in the end zone. And it missed a 54-yard field goal just before halftime.

Alabama only reached paydirt on an eight-play, 64-yard drive in the first quarter. Milroe tossed a 5-yard TD pass to Ryan Williams for a 7-0 lead.

UT's defensive stops gave its offense time to finally get into a groove for a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter. Alabama jumped back ahead 17-14 in the early fourth quarter.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee beats Alabama on Nico Iamaleava TD pass, defensive stop