Lorenzo Ward's most vivid memory of his time at Alabama isn't really much of a memory at all.
He has been the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's defensive coordinator since Rusty Wright's first season as Mocs head coach in 2019, but Ward played for the Crimson Tide from 1986-89 and built a reputation as a hard-hitting special teams ace.
So with the Mocs heading to Tuscaloosa for their regular-season finale this week, Ward was recently asked about an Alabama game that sticks out in his mind.
Kind of.
"It was probably the Auburn game," he said.
On Dec. 2, 1989, the Tide entered the day 10-0 and ranked second in the country, and a win to close the regular season would have put them in prime position to win a national championship — but as is known about the Iron Bowl, crazy things tend to happen in the annual rivalry game.
Especially when it was the first Iron Bowl played at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn's home.
"We were up in that game, but then I got a concussion," Ward recalled. "The next thing I remember, we had lost."
The 11th-ranked Tigers' 30-20 triumph was their fourth straight victory in the series and fifth in a row that season, and they followed up a month later with a Hall of Fame Bowl win against Ohio State for a 10-2 final record. Alabama wound up 10-2 as well, but it had a different feel for the Tide as they closed with a Sugar Bowl loss to the Miami Hurricanes, who at 11-1 were ultimately recognized as national champions.
So the Alabama memory that Ward mentioned isn't exactly the best one, but he hopes his next one can perhaps be a bit better, even if it comes as the Tide's opposition.
Saturday's kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium is set for noon Eastern, and Alabama (9-1) — which has already clinched a spot in next month's Southeastern Conference title game as the West Division champion and is No. 8 in this week's College Football Playoff rankings — is taking a break from its run of Football Bowl Subdivision opponents to host the Mocs before another Iron Bowl at Auburn on Thanksgiving weekend.
The Mocs (7-3) are playing one last time before learning Sunday whether they will be included in the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, which would extend a successful season. Ward's defense has obviously played a part in that success, with the Mocs ranked second in the Southern Conference and seventh in the FCS with 30 sacks, along with second in the SoCon in both total defense and scoring defense.
Memories — of a trip to a high-profile program and a big stadium, of the chance to impress against an FBS opponent with advantages in terms of scholarships and finances — are typically what these games are for FCS teams. Of course they'd love to win, and that's not to say something magical couldn't happen, but the mindset is usually to be competitive.
But for Ward and for the Mocs, who return from last week's open date after wrapping up a 6-2 SoCon mark, it's about the memories that could happen even if Alabama improves to 14-0 all-time against the Mocs.
"It's got to be cool for him," said Wright, who was UTC's starting center in a 42-13 loss to Alabama in Birmingham in the 1994 season opener. "I'm sure there's a lot of good memories. Some not so good, but a lot of good memories. I'm excited for this team, I'm excited to go down there. I didn't really have the opportunity last year when we were at Illinois to take it all in because it was a short week and I was worried about doing things and all that stuff.
"I don't know how many of the games we have on staff that have been down there. It's Bryant-Denny, it's cool. We've all watched games down there, and it may not be a night game, but it's going to be a cool environment, and that's why I'm excited for these kids to go down there no matter what happens."
When he was at Alabama, Ward's roommate began calling him "Whammy" because he thought he looked like the "Press Your Luck" game show character that lurked around the board and would pop up to steal contestants' money. The nickname was applied in a different way after Ward's big hit on a receiver in practice.
"They say I was a hitter back in my day," Ward told the Louisville Courier-Journal in 2017, when he took over as interim head coach at the University of Louisville. "The receiver came across the middle and I got a good shot on him, so the coach (Bill Curry) said, 'You really whammed him.' So then my roommate started calling me Whammy."
Regardless of the order of events, Saturday will be about reliving memories for Ward, just like it will be about making them for the Mocs.
"I probably remember the camaraderie of the team," Ward said. "A lot of people join fraternities, but the Alabama football team is a fraternity, so it was a fun time.
"Defensively, we're going to do what we do, and hopefully it's good enough to stop them. They've got great athletes; we've looked for weaknesses for two weeks now, and we don't see one. The quarterback (Jalen Milroe) was not experienced, and now he's getting experience every game, and so they're a complete team.
"But it's going to be fun. Alabama is always Alabama, and when you get a chance to go home, it's always exciting."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.