By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Baton Rouge, LA

Showing nerves of steel down the stretch, quarterback AJ McCarron hit a 28-yard touchdown pass to TJ Yeldon as No. 1 Alabama survived its toughest test yet with a 21-17 victory over No. 5 LSU Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

After Drew Alleman missed a 45-yard field goal that could have sealed LSU's victory, McCarron engineered a stunning five-play, 72-yard scoring drive that won it for the Crimson Tide (9-0, 6-0 SEC).

McCarron connected three straight passes of 18, 15 and 11 yards to wide receiver Kevin Norwood to put the Crimson Tide at LSU's 28.

After an incomplete pass, McCarron found Yeldon alone in the left flat and the wide receiver eluded two would-be tacklers behind good blocking to complete the game-winning drive.

McCarron completed 14 of 27 passes for 165 yards and a score and ran for another. He extended his active streak of 289 passing attempts without a pick and padded his career tally to 38 touchdown passes, fourth in Alabama history behind John Parker Wilson, Brodie Croyle and Greg McElroy.

Running back Eddie Lacy tallied 83 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown for the Crimson Tide while Norwood led the Tide's receiving corps with five catches for 62 yards.

Tigers quarterback Zach Mettenberger threw for 296 yards, including 206 in the second half, to put the Tigers ahead, 17-14, in the final period after falling behind, 14-3, at halftime.

The Tigers (7-2, 3-2 SEC) put the only points on the board in the opening period when Alleman buried a 38-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Crimson Tide, however, found their groove in the second period as Lacy scored on a seven-yard scoring run and McCarron added another scoring rush for a 14-3 lead.

Running back Jeremy Hill, who tallied 107 yards on 29 carries, scored on a seven-yard scoring run in the third quarter before Mettenberger gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead with a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jarvis Landry.

Three plays later, Mettenberger led the Tigers to an 11-play, 54-yard drive but came up empty-handed when Alleman missed a 45-yard field goal, giving the Crimson Tide a chance with 1:53 left in the game.

 

 

AJ McCarron Sparks Game-Winning Drive as Alabama Edges LSU