Top-ranked Tide upends Tigers

By Charlie Potter
Sports Editor

 

Heading into the locker room at halftime, the game looked to be heading down to the wire. LSU even kicked a 41-yard field goal to tie the game 17-17 early in the third quarter.

But Alabama went on to score three unanswered touchdowns to down the Tigers 38-17 in the November 9, 2013 match up in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“I was really proud of our players in the second half,” coach Nick Saban said. “I thought they did a fantastic job and probably played our best half of football … a lot of character out there in the second half.”

The Crimson Tide (9-0, 6-0 SEC) offense was led by quarterback AJ McCarron and running back T.J. Yeldon.

Yeldon carried the ball 25 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns, while McCarron completed 14-of-20 of his passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns.

McCarron passed former Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson to become the school’s leader in career passing yards Saturday night.

“It means a lot. I can never thank my teammates enough, an unbelievable job by them,” McCarron said. “I think any time you set any type of record it shows what type of great teammates you have.”

Alabama’s defense played lights out in the second half, holding LSU to 43 total rushing yards on 31 carries.

Linebacker C.J. Mosley led the team with 12 tackles and two pass break ups. He was also orchestrated the fake punt on fourth down that eventually led to a four-yard Yeldon touchdown run that put Alabama in the lead for good.

The Crimson Tide will travel to Starkville, Miss., Saturday to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The game will either air at 6 p.m. or 6:45 p.m. or be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.

“We’re on the course to do something great,” senior cornerback Deion Belue said. “LSU is a great team year in and year out. They’ve got a big time offense, big time receivers so of course we had to step up to the challenge.”