The law of physics states that for a shift in momentum to occur, an overpowering collision must take place.
LSU defensive end Marcus Spears provided that collision on Saturday, forcing Alabama quarterback Spencer Pennington into a late third-quarter fumble that resulted in an eight-yard touchdown return by linebacker Cameron Vaughn.
In a game dominated by defense, that score turned the Tide for good, giving LSU (7-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) a 13-10 lead. The Tigers finally took the game by a 26-10 count.
“I don’t want to say it won the game, but it felt good to at least change the momentum of the game,” Spears said. “If you let a team like that hang around, they have a tendency to pop one or do something good. We knew we had to go out and affect them … and get our offense some good field position.”
Trailing 10-6 at halftime, the Tigers lost the field-position battle in the first half with their first two possessions starting inside the 15-yard line.
But LSU managed to salvage the half with second-quarter field goals of 28 and 32 yards by Ryan Gaudet.
Scoring all its points in the first half, Alabama (6-3, 3-4) took advantage of good field position with a one-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Darby in the first quarter. Darby had 109 rushing yards in the game.
Brian Bostick added a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter to complete the scoring for the Tide.
“We really made a lot of errors in the first half and didn’t execute very well and really put ourselves in a hole,” Saban said. “But to our players’ credit, they did an outstanding job of getting it all right in the second half and playing really well.”
The second half started with miscues also, as the Tigers failed to recover an onside kick, and running back Alley Broussard fumbled on his own 12-yard line, spelling certain doom for LSU.
But Tigers cornerback Corey Webster changed the field position drastically, intercepting Pennington’s pass in the end zone and returning the ball to mid-field for the Tigers — a turnover that set up Vaughn’s go-ahead touchdown return a few series later.
Both teams struggled on offense as the Tigers outgained the Tide 283-196 in total yards, making the field position even more crucial.
“They were knocking right on the door, trying to score,” Webster said. “The field position turned around. I think that helped out a lot even though we didn’t score on that drive.”
The interception came on a questionable call by the referee as it appeared Webster might have pushed off an Alabama receiver to make the grab.
“That’s the aggressive kind of defense we play,” Webster said. “The referees always make good calls, and they made the right call. And we’re going to go with that.”
Saban said the Tigers’ tenacity in their fourth come-from-behind victory this season shows great character.
“A lot of teams would melt down in those situations,” Saban said. “But I’m really proud of the way our players believe in themselves [and] trust in each other to be able to come back in a game.”
The LSU offense put the icing on the cake with two fourth-quarter touchdowns from running back Joseph Addai, putting the Tigers ahead 26-10.
The Houston native showed his play-making ability in two facets of the game with a 35-yard touchdown reception from JaMarcus Russell and a 47-yard touchdown run.
“They like to use me in different situations – catching the ball, running the ball,” said Addai, who rushed for 99 yards on 12 carries. “Any situation coach calls on me to do, I’m going to do it my best.”
The Tigers ended their scoring attempts with one last faux pas — a missed extra point by Gaudet. Saban said, tongue in cheek, it was all part of the gameplan.
“We wanted to keep it a two-score game so our fans wouldn’t leave,” Saban said. “It could’ve been a three-score game, and I could have been a little more relaxed. But we didn’t want anybody to leave early.”