TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 3 Alabama picked up another dramatic win and a second straight trip to the SEC championship game.
Julio Jones caught a 73-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Leigh Tiffin booted a 40-yard field goal with 3:04 left to seal a 24-15 victory for the Crimson Tide against No. 9 LSU on Saturday.
The Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) earned a rematch with No. 1 Florida for the league championship in a physical game that left the Tigers (7-2, 4-2) without quarterback Jordan Jefferson and running back Charles Scott for most of the second half.
The win touched off another big celebration for Alabama, which survived a 12-10 win over Tennessee two weeks ago with Terrence Cody's two blocked field goal attempts in the fourth quarter. Tiffin came up big in that one, too, with four field goals. LSU would have taken control of the West and remained in position for a possible national title shot with a victory. The Tigers, whose only other loss came to the Gators, took a 15-10 lead into the fourth. They had won four straight games at ryant-Denny Stadium but now have lost two in a row to Alabama and their former coach, Nick Saban.
Saban & Co. moved a step closer to their second straight perfect regular season. The Tide outgained LSU 452-253, and narrowed the umber SEC national championship contenders to two.
Greg McElroy completed 19 of 34 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as the Tide aired it out 25 times in the first half against a defense that was putting extra defenders near the line.
The second half was more typical of the Tide's style. Mark Ingram gained 106 of his 144 yards after the half to continue to mount a strong campaign for Heisman Trophy consideration.
Jones had his best game of the season, with four catches for 102 yards.
And the Tide defense -- as it has all season -- came through in the end.
Needing two scores, backup quarterback Jarrett Lee and LSU couldn't get it to midfield in the final minutes.
Alabama hadn't left them much time, anyway, milking more than six minutes off the clock in setting up Tiffin's final kick. He also had a 20-yarder on a drive that took nearly as long early in the fourth.
LSU had failed on a 2-point try late in the third quarter trying to push its lead to seven points. Trent Richardson's 2-point run after Jones' touchdown made it a two-score game at the end.
Alabama gave fans two things they covet in the fourth quarter: The lead and big plays from Jones, who had been quiet all season after a fantastic freshman year. He caught a short pass from McElroy, juked a defender and sprinted down the sideline for a touchdown. Then Richardson made it 21-15 Alabama.
Alabama forced the short-handed LSU offense into a three-and-out and then pushed the ball across midfield.
After Patrick Peterson nearly picked off McElroy's pass -- he was ruled out of bounds -- Jones' catch converted a third-and-7 to help move the Tide into field goal position.
Jefferson and Scott were thriving before going to the sidelines. Their status was not immediately known.
Scott ran for 83 yards and his 34-yarder was the longest run play given up by Alabama this season. Jefferson passed for 114 yards and also had some success running the option.
Lee was 4 of 10 for 44 yards with an interception on a fourth-down play at the end.
But the Tigers were held to 95 yards rushing, the 20th opponent to produce fewer than 100 yards in Alabama's last 23 games.
LSU's defense held its own through three quarters. Drake Nevis sacked McElroy in the end zone in the third quarter for a safety, cutting Alabama's lead to 10-9.
Fullback Stevan Ridley bounced off 354-pound nose guard Terrance Cody for an 8-yard touchdown run and the 15-10 lead. Scott's big run set up the TD, but the pass for 2 did not connect.
LSU managed just 9 yards in the fourth.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
thinkbaz said on November 7, 2009 at 6:43 PM
WHY CAN'T LES MILES FIND A [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Q-BACK? It isn't like he didn't know. Jeez.
thinkbaz said on November 7, 2009 at 6:44 PM
WHY CAN'T LES MILES FIND A [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Q-BACK? It isn't like he didn't know. Jeez.
cajunref77 said on November 7, 2009 at 6:58 PM
What a game. Too bad it comes down to a critical Officials call. I knew all week if a big call would come, it would go to Alabama and I was right. With the game on the line we make a hellavu interception only to get it reversed by the Alabama clan in strips. If they can't look @ the video and make the proper call they need to nix instant replay. Its a shame a good game comes down to this, not that LSU would have scored but we will never know.
word2dwise said on November 7, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Lee needs to be cut from the team!!! He has cost LSU too many losses and is a jinx. This game was an LSU Victory until Lee showed his baby fat face and crappy high school football talent. Why did Les not put Jefferson back in, or give Shepard another shot! I blame Jarret Lee and believe that all LSU Fans feel the same tonight.
ispeeksasiplease said on November 7, 2009 at 7:54 PM
You can blame who you want. The fact is LSU is, and will be, an also ran in the most competitive conference in the country, until they find a QB who can will the team to big wins. Shepard, or someone else may be. We don't know. We do know that Jefferson is not. And God knows that the SEC officials are not worthy of calling big time games where potential national champions are on the field. Those guys were terrible. Errant calls for and against both teams.
hotpie said on November 8, 2009 at 4:31 AM
See what happens when LSU plays their equal,if they always played teams equal to them they would seldom win, I am so tired of them being ate up with them selves. You never see the truely good teams blowin heir own horn as LSU likes to do.
bigbro said on November 8, 2009 at 7:40 AM
amazing,no replay at alabama while oficials do their thing ,bad call on side line gave game to alabama,one would have to be blind and stupid to miss that call i still bleed purple and gold, still 10 and 2 would get us a major bowl--GO LSU TIGERS
bigbro said on November 8, 2009 at 7:52 AM
when you play at alabama expect the worst.lsu won that game IF THEY HAD OFFICAILS that could see straight WE ALSO NEED A QUARTERBACK go lsu
sueandhank60 said on November 8, 2009 at 9:10 AM
I think Les Miles lost that game on Saturday. Why put Jared Lee in? He is not good enough. Why did he bring in Russell Shepard if he can't use him when Jefferson goes down. A quaterback who has to use all three timeouts because he does not know what's going on, plus he must not have known the plays with all the interceptions he threw to the other team. I am sorry for the fans and the team. They would have won with Russell because you could do something about that, Referees are all calling the plays for Alabama because the SEC wants to see an Alabama-Florida championship game. I hope Auburn takes down Alabama and LSU wins out. Then life would be considerably better. This game was a joke.\
robbrew31 said on November 9, 2009 at 9:21 AM
I love that the LSU loss is being blamed on the officials. It looked to be an interception, and LSU should have gotten the ball. But, at the same time, Jarrett Lee was the quarterback. What do the fans expect? Lee, although he should have been given the chance, was not going to miraculously become a great QB and lead the Tigers to victory. Look at the real reasons for the loss. Bad coaching and bad defense crippled your beloved LSU, not the referees. So give it a rest and get ready for the rest of your season.
robbrew31 said on November 9, 2009 at 9:25 AM
i have never seen a wide receiver screen pass go for more than five or ten yards. Julio Jones scored on a 73 yard wide receiver screen. Look at the bad defense as the reason LSU lost. Bama outgained the Tigers by 200 yards.