Game notes: Alabama defeats LSU 24-15

ALABAMA FOOTBALL POST-GAME NOTES (courtesy of UA Media Relations)
ALABAMA vs. LSU SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009 – BRYANT-DENNY STADIUM (92,012), TUSCALOOSA, ALA.

SEC WESTERN DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
Alabama’s 24-15 victory over LSU clinched Alabama’s second consecutive SEC Western Division championship. The victory secures a berth in the 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta, scheduled for Saturday, December 5, with kickoff slated for 3 p.m. Central Time. CBS will televise the SEC Championship Game to a national audience. The Western Division Championship by Alabama is the Crimson Tide’s seventh since expansion created the divisional format in 1992. Alabama also won division titles in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2008.

ALABAMA-LSU SERIES
With the 24-15 victory, Alabama leads the all-time series 45-23-5. The win on Saturday was Alabama’s first win over LSU in Tuscaloosa since 1999. Alabama now has a 9-8 series lead in Tuscaloosa, while the Tide holds a 25-8-2 edge in Baton Rouge.

FIRST CONSECUTIVE 9-0 STARTS SINCE 1973-74
The victory over LSU moves Alabama to 9-0 for the season and, along with a 12-0 start in 2008, this marks the first time since the 1973 and 1974 seasons that Alabama has constructed 9-0 starts in consecutive seasons. Alabama, which finished 12-2 in 2008, finished 11-1 in both 1973 and 1974 as they won 11 straight games prior to losing bowl games in those seasons, the Sugar Bowl vs. Notre Dame (24-23 in 1973) and the Orange Bowl vs. Notre Dame (13-11 in 1974).

ALABAMA IMPROVES TO 2-5 IN SABAN ERA WHEN TRAILING AT THE HALF
Alabama trailed at halftime, 7-3, marking only the second time this year that the Crimson Tide has trailed at the break, the first time since the season opener against Virginia Tech on September 5 when the Hokies held a 17-16 lead at intermission. The Crimson Tide is 2-5 under Saban when trailing at halftime. Before the win over LSU, the only previous win of the Saban Era when trailing at the half came in the 34-24 win over No. 7 Virginia Tech in the 2009 season opener in Atlanta. Conversely, the Crimson Tide is 25-1 when leading at halftime under Saban, including a 19-game winning streak. The only loss with a halftime lead came against LSU during the 2007 season when UA held a 20-17 halftime lead before losing, 41-34, on Nov. 3, 2007, at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide is 1-2 when tied at halftime under Saban. The lone win when tied at halftime came last year at LSU.

OTHER NOTES
The safety scored by LSU on a quarterback sack with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter is the first allowed by Alabama since October 18, 2003, at Mississippi.

Alabama has outscored opponents 56-20 in the first quarter and 142-53 in the first half this season.

LSU’s touchdown pass of 12 yards from Jordan Jefferson to Deangelo Peterson with 9:12 remaining in the second quarter was the first touchdown allowed by the Alabama defense in the first half of a game in six games dating back to the Florida International game on September 12.

The 7-0 deficit faced by Alabama in the second quarter marked the first time Alabama has trailed in a game since the second quarter of the Florida International game on September 12, when FIU led Alabama 14-13. In that game, Alabama trailed for only 2:09 before regaining the lead on a run by Mark Ingram with 8:20 left in the second quarter. The Crimson Tide trailed LSU until 11:40 remained in the third quarter when Darius Hanks caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Greg McElroy to give Alabama a 10-7 lead.

LSU scored first, marking the first time this season that Alabama has not scored first in a game and the first time since the 2009 Sugar Bowl vs. Utah that an opponent has taken the initial lead of the game.

Alabama and LSU were scoreless in the first quarter. The Alabama defense has not allowed a touchdown in the first quarter in the last six games dating back to the FIU game (7 in 1Q and 14 in 1st half). Alabama has not allowed a point in opening quarter of its last four games.

Alabama trailed for 12:52 against LSU (for the final 9:12 of the first half and the first 3:40 of the second half). This season, Alabama has trailed a total of 42:40 of play. Alabama trailed 27:39 of the Virginia Tech game, 2:09 of the FIU game, from 9:12 of the second quarter until 11:40 remained in the third period against LSU.

Alabama was held to only three points in the first half by LSU, the fewest points in the first half by Alabama since the Crimson Tide was held scoreless (0-0) at half against Florida State on Sep 29, 2007 at Jacksonville, Fla., in a game the Tide eventually lost, 21-14.

OFFENSE NOTES
100-YARD RUSHERS AND RECEIVERS
Alabama had a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver against LSU, the sixth 100-yard rusher and second 100-yard receiver this season. In the third season under head coach Nick Saban, Alabama has had 16 100-yard performances and the Tide has gone 15-1 in those 16 games. Four different Alabama players have rushed for 100 yards during the last three seasons. Under Saban, Alabama has had eight 100-yard receiving performances and the Tide has gone 7-1 in those games. The LSU game marked the fourth time under Saban that Alabama has had a 100-yard rusher and receiver in the same game.

100-Yard Rushers in the Saban Era (15 wins, 1 loss)
246 by Mark Ingram vs. South Carolina (Oct. 17, 2009) W
218 by Glen Coffee vs. Kentucky (Oct. 4, 2008) W
173 by Terry Grant at Vanderbilt (Sept. 8, 2007) W
172 by Mark Ingram at Mississippi (Oct. 10, 2009) W
162 by Glen Coffee at Arkansas (Sept. 20, 2008) W
150 by Mark Ingram vs. Virginia Tech (Sept. 5, 2009) W
144 by Mark Ingram vs. LSU (Nov. 7, 2009) W
144 by Glen Coffee vs. Auburn (Nov. 29, 2008) W
140 by Mark Ingram at Kentucky (Oct. 3, 2009) W
134 by Terry Grant vs. Western Carolina (Sept. 1, 2007) W
126 by Glen Coffee at LSU (Nov. 8, 2008) W
121 by Glen Coffee vs. Houston (Oct. 6, 2007) W
118 by Trent Richardson vs. FIU (Sept. 12, 2009) W
113 by Mark Ingram vs. Arkansas State (Nov. 1, 2008) W
112 by Glen Coffee vs. Florida (Dec. 6, 2008) (SEC) L
104 by Terry Grant vs. Tennessee (Oct. 20, 2007) W

RB MARK INGRAM
With 144 yards rushing against LSU, sophomore running back Mark Ingram has rushed for 1,148 yards and eight touchdowns this season for a 127.6-yards per game average. Ingram has 24 receptions for 216 yards and three scores. Below is a look at Ingram’s season on a game-by-game basis.

Mark Ingram 2009 Game-By-Game
RUSHING RECEIVING
Game Att. Yards TD Rec. Yards TD All-Purpose
vs. Virginia Tech 26 150 1 3 35 1 185
Florida Int’l 10 56 1 4 47 0 103
North Texas 8 91 1 3 38 1 129
Arkansas 17 50 1 3 21 1 71
at Kentucky 22 140 2 1 6 0 146
at Mississippi 28 172 1 3 16 0 188
South Carolina 24 246 1 2 23 0 269
Tennessee 18 99 0 0 0 0 99
LSU 22 144 0 5 30 0 174
Totals 175 1148 8 24 216 3 1364

INGRAM AT HIS BEST AGAINST THE BEST
Mark Ingram has been at his best against the best in 2009. The sophomore has accounted for 712 yards on the ground (178.0 ypg.) with three rushing touchdowns in four games against opponents ranked in the Top 25 at game time. He has also caught 13 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown to account for 816 all-purpose yards (209.0 ypg) in those four contests.

Ingram vs. Ranked Opponents in 2009
RUSHING RECEIVING
Game Att. Yards TD Rec. Yards TD All-Purpose
vs. Virginia Tech 26 150 1 3 35 1 185
at Mississippi 28 172 1 3 16 0 188
South Carolina 24 246 1 2 23 0 269
LSU 22 144 0 5 30 0 174
Totals 100 712 3 13 104 1 816

INGRAM ON ALABAMA’S SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING LIST
Sophomore running back Mark Ingram, who entered the LSU game with 1,004 yards rushing this season, rushed for 144 yards against the Tigers, giving him 1,148 rushing yards this season. With his totals versus LSU, Ingram moved into ninth place on the Alabama single-season rushing list (see below).

Alabama’s 1,000-Yard Rushing Seasons
Yards Player (Attempts) Year
1,471 Bobby Humphrey (236 att.) 1986
1,383 Shaun Alexander (302 att.) 1999
1,383 Glen Coffee (233 att.) 2008
1,367 Shaud Williams (280 att.) 2003
1,341 Sherman Williams (291 att.) 1994
1,255 Bobby Humphrey (238 att.) 1987
1,242 Kenneth Darby (239 att.) 2005
1,178 Shaun Alexander (258 att.) 1998
1,148 Mark Ingram (154 att.) 2009
1,137 Johnny Musso (226 att.) 1970

WR JULIO JONES
Sophomore wide receiver Julio Jones took a short pass 73 yards for a touchdown with 10:24 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Alabama a 19-15 lead that was extended to 21-15 on a two-point conversion run by Trent Richardson. Jones’ catch-and-run was his longest this season and the longest of his Alabama career. Jones’ previous longest reception was a 64-yard play against Florida in the 2008 SEC Championship Game at Atlanta. Jones finished the game with four catches for 102 yards.

Jones eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the fourth time in his Alabama career. That ties the sophomore for fifth all-time at Alabama in career 100-yard games. Below is a list of Alabama’s career leaders in 100-yard games for receiving.

Career 100-Yard Receiving Performances
13 D.J. Hall (2004-07)
6 Ozzie Newsome (1974-76)
5 David Bailey (1969-71)
5 Dennis Homan (1965-67)
4 Julio Jones (2008-Present)
4 Freddie Milons (1998-2001)
4 Wayne Wheeler (1971-73)
4 David Palmer (1991-93)

WR MARQUIS MAZE
Receiver Marquise Maze caught 6 passes for 88 yards – all in the first half – to set a new single-game career high for receptions while tying his single-game high for receiving yardage. His previous single-game high of 4 catches occurred three times previously: vs. Tulane in 2008, vs. North Texas in 2009 and at Mississippi in 2009. His previous yardage high was an 88-yard effort on only 2 catches against Arkansas.

DEFENSE NOTES
Alabama allowed 253 yards of total offense against LSU.

2009 Alabama Defense Game-by-Game
Opponent Total Offense Rushing Passing
Virginia Tech 155 64 91
Florida Int’l 214 1 213
North Texas 187 61 126
Arkansas 254 63 191
Mississippi 197 57 140
South Carolina 278 64 214
Tennessee 318 63 255
LSU 253 95 158

By holding LSU to 95 rushing yards, Alabama’s defense over the past 23 games – or two seasons – has held 20 teams under 100 yards rushing as only LSU and Florida in 2008 and Kentucky in 2009 have been able to crack the 100-yard barrier as a team. In 2009, only Kentucky has managed more than 72 yards rushing on the Tide. UA has surrendered just 1,654 yards on the ground in the last 23 games, an average of 71.9 yards per game.

No running back has cracked the 100-yard mark since Mississippi’s BenJarvus Green-Ellis went for 131 on Oct. 13, 2007, a span of 27 games.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
K LEIGH TIFFIN
Senior placekicker Leigh Tiffin made three field goals and two extra points to give him 348 career points to set a new Alabama career scoring record – breaking Phillip Doyle’s previous school record of 345 points accomplished from 1987-90.

Tiffin’s field goals give him 76 career field goals, second all-time at Alabama, just two shy of the school record held by Philip Doyle (78 from 1987-90).

Tiffin has made 23-of-26 field goal attempts this season, moving him into third on the Alabama single-season field goals list. Tiffin is closing in on his own record of 25 field goals made, a record he set in 2008 when he made 25 of 34 attempts. Philip Doyle is second on the list with 24 (in 29 attempts) in 1990.

Tiffin has scored 95 points this season via field goals or extra-point conversions. That ranks sixth on the Alabama single-season list for kicking points.
Points Player (FGs, PATs) Year
111 Leigh Tiffin (25 FGs, 36 PATs) 2007
106 Leigh Tiffin (20 FGs, 46 PATs) 2008
100 Philip Doyle (22 FGs, 34 PATs) 1989
97 Philip Doyle (24 FGs, 25 PATs) 1990
97 Michael Proctor (22 FGs, 31 PATs) 1993
95 Leigh Tiffin (23 FGs, 26 PATs) 2009
94 Michael Proctor (19FGs, 37 PATs) 1992

HEAD COACH NICK SABAN
Saban has compiled a 28-8 (.777) record in his career with the Tide and the 28 wins rank as the fourth-most for any Crimson Tide head football coach after 36 games. Wallace Wade holds the record for most wins after 36 games with 32 victories. Frank Thomas is second with 31wins in 36 games while Gene Stallings ranks third with 30. Below are the most wins by UA coaches after the first 36 career games.

Most Wins (After 36 Games)
Wallace Wade 32
Frank Thomas 31
Gene Stallings 30
Nick Saban 28
Xen Scott 26
Paul Bryant 24

SABAN VS. LSU
Alabama head coach Nick Saban is 2-2 in his career against LSU with Saturday’s win, following last year’s 27-21 overtime win in Tiger Stadium and a 41-34 loss in 2007. A Saban-coached Michigan State team also lost, 46-25, to the Tigers while Saban was head coach at Michigan State in the 1995 Independence Bowl in Shreveport. Saban was the head coach at LSU from 2000-04 and compiled a 48-16 (.750) record, leading the Tigers to the 2003 BCS National Championship and two SEC Championships during his tenure. In 2003, Saban led the Tigers to a 13-1 record and a 21-14 win over Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game played at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La.