The 3rd ranked, 7-1 Louisiana State Tigers of coach Les Miles traveled to Tuscaloosa to meet the 17th ranked, 6-2 Alabama Crimson Tide of first-year coach Nick Saban. The pregame hype for the match-up featured several storied about Nick Saban’s departure from Louisiana State for the NFL. The Tigers’ faithful considered him traitorous not only for leaving Louisiana State but for taking the Alabama job. Tigers’ QB Matt Flynn overcame three 1st half interceptions to lead Louisiana State to a come-from-behind 41-34 victory to retain The Belt. The Crimson Tide opened with a 10-play, 44-yard drive but had to settle for a 36-yard field goal from PK Leigh Tiffin. The Tigers drove 59 yards in 11 plays & tied the game when All-SEC PK Colt David kicked a 43-yard field goal. Louisiana State’s All-SEC CB Chevis Jackson intercepted Alabama’s QB John Parker Wilson & returned the pick 17 yards to the Crimson Tide’s 13-yard line. Three plays later, Flynn connected with WR Early Doucet on a 10-yard touchdown pass giving the Tigers a 10-3 advantage. A short punt gave Louisiana State the ball at their own 46-yard line when the Tigers went to their bag of trick plays. After Flynn tossed the ball to RB Jacob Hester who was running to his left, Hester flipped back to a Doucet who was reversing his field to the right. Doucet threw to a wide-open Flynn who had run down the right sideline for a 35-yard gain. The Tigers finished the drive on the first play of the 2nd quarter with Hester scoring on a 1-yard run pushing the lead to 17-3. Louisiana State’s defense seemed to be dominating the game when a mistake cost them the momentum. Faced with a 3rd and 12, Wilson threw another incomplete pass but Tigers’ DE Tyson Jackson was called for a roughing-the-passer penalty. On the next snap, Alabama’s WR D.J. Hall ran past the Louisiana State secondary & Wilson hit him in stride for a 67-yard touchdown pass giving the Crimson Tide the momentum. Flynn tried to get the score back quickly but his first pass of the next drive was intercepted by Alabama’s All-SEC S Rashad Johnson. The Crimson Tide was unable to move the ball but the punt pinned the Tigers at their own 5-yard line. Flynn again tried to move the offense but his pass was intercepted by Alabama’s LB Ezekial Knight at the Louisiana State 10-yard line. The Crimson Tide had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Tiffin but they still trailed 17-13. Flynn’s third interception of the 1st half came after he had led a Tigers’ drive to the Alabama 23-yard line. Flynn’s pass was picked off by Alabama’s CB Kareem Jackson who returned it to the Louisiana State 35-yard line. With 0:46 left in the half, Wilson threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to WR Keith Brown giving the Crimson Tide a 20-17 halftime edge. Late in the quarter, it looked like Alabama had taken complete control as Wilson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brown for a 27-17 advantage. It took just two plays for Louisiana State to right the ship as Flynn connected with WR Terrance Toliver for an 11-yard gain then found WR Demetrius Byrd open on a 61-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline. The teams started the final quarter with Alabama holding a 27-24 lead but Louisiana State tied it with 11:21 to play when David connected from 49-yards. The teams traded punts but it was the Crimson Tide’s Javier Arenas who gave the home crowd hopes of an upset. He took the punt, side-stepped a defender, & raced 61 yards for the go-ahead score. Alabama led 34-27 with 6:26 to play but the Tigers had been in similar situations during the season & had rallied for the win. After a quick exchange of punts, Louisiana State got the ball at their own 15-yard line when Flynn went back to work. He completed 6 of 9 passes on the drive including a 32-yard touchdown pass to Doucet that tied the game at 34-34 with 2:49 to play. Wilson tried to rally Alabama but after an incomplete pass he was sacked on the next two plays. More importantly, on the second sack, Wilson fumbled the ball & Louisiana State’s S Curtis Taylor recovered giving the Tigers the ball at the Crimson Tide’s 3-yard line. Two plays later, Hester scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run. Alabama hopes of tying the game ended when Wilson’s 4th down pass fell incomplete near midfield. Flynn finished with 353 yards passing with 3 touchdowns but 3 interceptions while Byrd added 6 catches for 144 yards to his score. Wilson finished with 234 yards passing with 3 touchdowns & an interception while being sacked 7 times by the Tigers’ defense. The Crimson Tide finished the season 7-6 while Louisiana State finished 12-2 & National Champions. Alabama has not played for The Belt again.
Pickin' Splinters
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