Alabama Football: Ranking the 5 best Tide vs LSU football games
By Mike Parham
No. 3 – November 5, 2011 (Bryant-Denny Stadium)
Coming into this game, it was being dubbed as the “Game of the Century”. It was a matchup between the top two ranked teams who also had the top two defenses in the country.
The game was loaded with future NFL stars from both teams. 45 players that participated in the game were drafted within the next four years, second all-time.
The game was expected to be a defensive battle and that’s exactly what fans got to see.
In the first quarter, it was the Tide who moved the ball more effectively. They had two drives into LSU territory but ultimately came up empty with two missed field goal attempts by Cade Foster.
In the second quarter, Alabama once again drove into LSU territory and came up empty. Jeremy Shelley had his 49-yard field goal attempt blocked by Bennie Logan and returned to their own 48. However, LSU couldn’t capitalize on the good field position and was forced to punt again.
On their next drive, Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron connected with Trent Richardson on a 39-yard pass bringing the ball to the 19-yard line. Again, LSU’s defense held on, forcing the Tide to attempt another field goal.
This time, Jeremy Shelley connected on a 34-yard field goal to give Alabama the first score of the game. On the following drive, LSU was able to move the ball down to Alabama’s 2-yard line but had to settle for a field goal as time expired, tying the game at halftime.
The third quarter was pretty much a mirror image of the first half. That was until an interception by Mark Barron at the LSU 35 set the Tide up in a great position.
That drive stalled as well and Alabama again called on Cade Foster, who connected on a 46-yard field goal to give Alabama a 6-3 lead.
On Alabama’s next drive, McCarron threw an interception to Morris Claiborne that set up a 30-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter, tying the game 6-6. This ended up being the final score of regulation.
In overtime, Alabama couldn’t move the ball and had to settle for a 52-yard field goal attempt by Foster that was missed. LSU, only needing a field goal to win, kept the ball on the ground and nailed a 25-yard field goal to win the game. Final Score: Alabama 6 LSU 9