The date was Saturday, Sept. 29.
Towson University travelled to Tiger Stadium for LSU’s final non-conference game of 2012. On first and 10 on the Towson 18-yard line in the third quarter, former LSU running back Michael Ford fumbled, turning the ball over and ending a potential Tigers scoring drive.
That was the last time LSU lost a fumble all season, finishing the year with 296 consecutive carries without a turnover.
So when senior running back Alfred Blue fumbled on the Tigers’ six-yard line against TCU Saturday night, one could say it was an anomaly. 
“It was a miscommunication between me and [senior quarterback] Zach [Mettenberger],” Blue said. “We fixed it in practice this week, and hopefully it won’t happen again.”
That capped the number at 331 consecutive running back carries without a fumble lost, a statistic that tends to go unnoticed when the scorebooks close at the end of the season.
During his 2012 freshman season, Jeremy Hill carried the ball 142 times — spanning his entire year — without committing a turnover. Blue had 127 straight carries before Saturday’s fumble. His fumble against TCU was his first since he lost his grip against Mississippi State in 2010.
Even Kenny Hilliard, who struggled with fumbling early in his sophomore season, finished the year with a strong grip, going 34-straight carries without a turnover to end the campaign.
Preventing fumbles is a concern at practice. So much so, the squad dedicates five minutes strictly to ball security every day before run-throughs begin.
Even the LSU defensive backs are noticing the backfield’s improvement.
“In practice, somebody secures the tackle, and then the next person comes in and tries to rip the ball out,” said sophomore cornerback Jalen Collins. “We always work on trying to get turnovers, and it does help because they work so much on ball security that it’s hard to get out.”
Blue, who injured his knee against Idaho in 2012 and failed to return, wanted to start the season off on a positive note. The senior carried the ball 19 times for 89 yards but had the pivotal fumble that turned momentum in the Horned Frogs favor. 
It was a rough return to the field for Blue, but the entire running back corps assumed responsibility.
“My stomach kind of dropped, but Blue is a leader, and yesterday after practice we ran for that fumble,” said junior running back Terrence Magee. “When one person does it, it’s like we all do it. He stepped up, and he apologized and said that it wouldn’t happen again.”
Magee himself didn’t have ample opportunities to carry the football a season ago. With a stacked backfield, Magee got only one carry as a sophomore, so ball security wasn’t an issue.
But after getting 13 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns against TCU, the junior will have to shift his focus to providing momentum for the offense.
Magee and Blue will both look to keep the ball in their hands as the season progresses. 
They will be following a secret creed created by running backs coach Frank Wilson that is only known by the members of the backfield. 
Though neither Tiger wished to make the creed public, they both said that it has an impact on them during the game, and it has clearly been effective over the past year.
“We’ve got a creed that we say about ball security, and it’s a big emphasis on every practice that we go into that you don’t put the ball on the ground,” Magee said.
“When one person does it, it’s like we all do it. [Blue] stepped up, and he apologized and said that it wouldn’t happen again.”