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| Dwayne Bowe makes the game-winning touchdown catch in overtime of LSU's win over Alabama in 2005. |
Since Saban's arrival in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide and the Tigers have taken part in several big-time showdowns include two meetings as the top two ranked teams during the 2011 season.
But two years before Saban come back to college football, the Tigers and the Crimson Tide met in top-5 showdown late in the 2005 season that ended determining the outcome of the SEC Western Division race that season.
LSU entered the game ranked #5 with a 7-1 record, which was remarkable considering some of the circumstances the Tigers had dealt with during the season.
Not only were they under a first-year head coach in Les Miles, who had come over from Oklahoma State, but had to deal with the effects of Hurricane Katrina which had left much of the Louisiana coast in ruins when it hit in August.
The Tigers were able to overcome those distractions as they entered the Alabama game on a six-game winning streak thanks to an offense that was led by quarterback Jamarcus Russell, running back Justin Vincent, and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.
If the Tigers could knock off the Tide, they would need to win their final two games to earn a third trip to the SEC Championship Game in five years.
While the Tigers were once again competing for the SEC West title, the Crimson Tide were having an unlikely dream season under third-year head coach Mike Shula as Alabama entered the LSU game undefeated with a 9-0 record.
The Crimson Tide had gotten to this point thanks to a stingy defense and a cupid of late-game wins over Ole Miss and Tennessee as Jamie Christensen had hit game-winning field goals in the final seconds of both games.
If the Tide could knock off LSU, they would clinch the SEC West to earn their first trip to the SEC Championship Game since 1999 and keep their chances of a national championship alive with a 10-0 record.
After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Tide had the ball at their 44-yard-line when quarterback Brodie Croyle hit Keith Brown for a 26-yard completion to give Bama a 1st down at the LSU 30-yard-line.
However, the Tigers defense would allow only one more yard on the next three plays, forcing the Tide to settle for a 46-yard field goal attempt by Christensen which sailed wide right and no good, keeping the game scoreless.
Following a LSU three-and-out, the Tide got the ball back at their 22-yard-line when they went to their vaunted running game as Kenneth Darby carried the ball four times for 44 yards on a 10-play, 67-yard drive which culminated with a 28-yard field goal by Christensen to give Bama a 3-0 lead with 5:15 left in the first quarter.
The Tide would get the ball again at their 16-yard-line with just 24 seconds left in the first quarter when the Bama offense put together a 11-play, 84-yard drive that was capped off with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Croyle to D.J. Hall to increase the Crimson Tide's lead to 10-0 with 10:59 left in the second quarter.
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| Alabama running back Kenneth Darby would be the game's leading rusher with 104 yards on 21 carries. |
The Tigers would get the yards back but were forced to settle for a 43-yard field goal attempt by Chris Jackson which he missed wide left giving the Tide the ball at their 27-yard-line with 3:52 left before halftime and a chance to increase their lead.
The Tide offense would drive to the LSU 38-yard-line until Croyle fumbled the football on a quarterback draw, which he recovered but not before losing 12 yards to force a 4th & 22 at the 50-yard-line with two seconds left in the half.Croyle dropped back to attempt a "Hail Mary" pass but was sacked by LSU's Tyson Jackson for another 12-yard-loss as the first half came to a close with the Tide ahead 10-0.
The Tigers got the ball to start the second half at their 20-yard-line as Russell hit Davis for 17 yards to begin the drive, then connected with Vincent on a 26-yard screen pass to put LSU at the 37-yard-line.
Following a pass interference penalty on Crimson Tide cornerback Anthony Madison gave them a 1st down at the Bama 22-yard-line, the Tigers went to the ground game as Vincent carried the ball four straight times, gaining 20 yards.
The Tigers had a 2nd & goal at the two-yard-line but could only pick up one more yard on the next two plays forcing a 4th & goal at the one-yard-line.
Even though a field goal would make it a one-score game, Miles decided to go for the touchdown which he got as Vincent punched it in for the one-yard touchdown to cut the Tigers' deficit to 10-7 with 9:53 left in the third quarter.
Then after forcing a three-and-out, the Tigers got the ball at the Bama 44-yard-line when Russell connected with Bowe for 28 yards to give the Tigers a 1st down at the Crimson Tide's 16-yard-line.
It looked like the Tigers were going to have a short field goal attempt after an eight-yard pass from Russell to Bowe on 3rd & 11, but a late hit penalty on left tackle Andrew Whitworth pushed LSU back 15 yards, forcing Jackson to attempt a 42-yard field goal instead of a 27-yarder.
But Jackson would make the kick to tie the game at 10 with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
The next time the Tigers got the ball it was at their 12-yard-line just eight second into the fourth quarter when Russell lead the Tigers on a 10-play, 58-yard drive to set up a potential go-ahead field goal for Jackson from 47 yards out.
However, Jackson's kick would sail wide right, keeping the game tied 10-10 with 10:35 left in regulation.
After Jackson's miss, the game would turn into a defensive stalemate as neither team could mount a drive and traded punts until the Tigers took over at the 50-yard-line with 3:32 left in regulation and a chance to drive for the winning score.
Russell and the Tigers took their time as they only drove 18 yards in six plays before calling on Jackson to attempt a 49-yard field goal with about a minute left in regulation.
But for the second time in the 4th quarter, Jackson would miss a potential go-ahead field goal as his 49-yarder sailed wide right, giving the Tide the ball at their 33-yard-line with 54 seconds left.
The Bama offense could only get to their 49-yard-line before calling their last timeout with just two seconds left on the clock.
That is when Croyle lofted a screen pass for Glen Coffee in the left flat, who was able to run to the LSU nine-yard-line before he was met by a gaggle of LSU defenders as time expired to send the game into overtime with the score still 10-10.
LSU won the overtime coin toss and elected to play defense which had held the Bama offense to 63 yards of total offense in the second half.
An illegal shift penalty on the first play of the drive pushed the Tide back five yards to the 30-yard-line but were able to drive to the LSU 17-yard-line where they had a 3rd & 2 when Croyle was unable to complete a pass to Darby, forcing Bama to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Christensen to give the Tide a 13-10 lead as the LSU offense prepared to take the field, knowing a touchdown would win them the game.
On the first play from scrimmage, Russell hit Vincent for 10 yards to give LSU a 1st down at the Bama 15-yard-line.
Two straight running plays picked up four yards to set up 3rd & 6 when Russell fired a pass for Bowe in the end zone, who made the 11-yard touchdown catch to give LSU a 16-13 overtime win and the lead in the SEC West Division.
The Tigers would knock off Ole Miss and Arkansas in their final two regular season games to clinch their third SEC West title in five years, where they would play the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game.
However, the Tigers would be stunned by the Bulldogs as they lost 34-14, denying LSU a third SEC title in five years.
The Tigers would finish the season with a 10-2 record as they trounced the Miami Hurricanes 40-3 thanks to a 196-yard passing and two-touchdown performance from backup QB Matt Flynn, who started in replaced of Russell who hurt his shoulder in the SEC Title Game.
As for the Tide, they would follow up their heartbreaking loss to LSU with a four straight in the "Iron Bowl" as Croyle was sacked 11 times in a 28-18 loss to the Auburn Tigers.
The Crimson Tide would get an invitation to the Cotton Bowl where they would play the Texas Tech Red Raiders as Christensen would kick his third game-winning field goal of the season with a 45-yarder as time expired to give Bama a 13-10 win to end the season with a 10-2 record.
One year later, the Tide would go 6-7 and fire Shula, who was replaced by Saban, who has gone on to win five national championships during his tenure at Tuscaloosa.
The Tigers got the ball to start the second half at their 20-yard-line as Russell hit Davis for 17 yards to begin the drive, then connected with Vincent on a 26-yard screen pass to put LSU at the 37-yard-line.
Following a pass interference penalty on Crimson Tide cornerback Anthony Madison gave them a 1st down at the Bama 22-yard-line, the Tigers went to the ground game as Vincent carried the ball four straight times, gaining 20 yards.
The Tigers had a 2nd & goal at the two-yard-line but could only pick up one more yard on the next two plays forcing a 4th & goal at the one-yard-line.
Even though a field goal would make it a one-score game, Miles decided to go for the touchdown which he got as Vincent punched it in for the one-yard touchdown to cut the Tigers' deficit to 10-7 with 9:53 left in the third quarter.
Then after forcing a three-and-out, the Tigers got the ball at the Bama 44-yard-line when Russell connected with Bowe for 28 yards to give the Tigers a 1st down at the Crimson Tide's 16-yard-line.
It looked like the Tigers were going to have a short field goal attempt after an eight-yard pass from Russell to Bowe on 3rd & 11, but a late hit penalty on left tackle Andrew Whitworth pushed LSU back 15 yards, forcing Jackson to attempt a 42-yard field goal instead of a 27-yarder.
But Jackson would make the kick to tie the game at 10 with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
The next time the Tigers got the ball it was at their 12-yard-line just eight second into the fourth quarter when Russell lead the Tigers on a 10-play, 58-yard drive to set up a potential go-ahead field goal for Jackson from 47 yards out.
However, Jackson's kick would sail wide right, keeping the game tied 10-10 with 10:35 left in regulation.
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| LSU quarterback Jamarcus Russell would complete 16 of 30 passes for 229 yards and throw one touchdown. |
After Jackson's miss, the game would turn into a defensive stalemate as neither team could mount a drive and traded punts until the Tigers took over at the 50-yard-line with 3:32 left in regulation and a chance to drive for the winning score.
Russell and the Tigers took their time as they only drove 18 yards in six plays before calling on Jackson to attempt a 49-yard field goal with about a minute left in regulation.
But for the second time in the 4th quarter, Jackson would miss a potential go-ahead field goal as his 49-yarder sailed wide right, giving the Tide the ball at their 33-yard-line with 54 seconds left.
The Bama offense could only get to their 49-yard-line before calling their last timeout with just two seconds left on the clock.
That is when Croyle lofted a screen pass for Glen Coffee in the left flat, who was able to run to the LSU nine-yard-line before he was met by a gaggle of LSU defenders as time expired to send the game into overtime with the score still 10-10.
LSU won the overtime coin toss and elected to play defense which had held the Bama offense to 63 yards of total offense in the second half.
An illegal shift penalty on the first play of the drive pushed the Tide back five yards to the 30-yard-line but were able to drive to the LSU 17-yard-line where they had a 3rd & 2 when Croyle was unable to complete a pass to Darby, forcing Bama to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Christensen to give the Tide a 13-10 lead as the LSU offense prepared to take the field, knowing a touchdown would win them the game.
On the first play from scrimmage, Russell hit Vincent for 10 yards to give LSU a 1st down at the Bama 15-yard-line.
Two straight running plays picked up four yards to set up 3rd & 6 when Russell fired a pass for Bowe in the end zone, who made the 11-yard touchdown catch to give LSU a 16-13 overtime win and the lead in the SEC West Division.
The Tigers would knock off Ole Miss and Arkansas in their final two regular season games to clinch their third SEC West title in five years, where they would play the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game.
However, the Tigers would be stunned by the Bulldogs as they lost 34-14, denying LSU a third SEC title in five years.
The Tigers would finish the season with a 10-2 record as they trounced the Miami Hurricanes 40-3 thanks to a 196-yard passing and two-touchdown performance from backup QB Matt Flynn, who started in replaced of Russell who hurt his shoulder in the SEC Title Game.
As for the Tide, they would follow up their heartbreaking loss to LSU with a four straight in the "Iron Bowl" as Croyle was sacked 11 times in a 28-18 loss to the Auburn Tigers.
The Crimson Tide would get an invitation to the Cotton Bowl where they would play the Texas Tech Red Raiders as Christensen would kick his third game-winning field goal of the season with a 45-yarder as time expired to give Bama a 13-10 win to end the season with a 10-2 record.
One year later, the Tide would go 6-7 and fire Shula, who was replaced by Saban, who has gone on to win five national championships during his tenure at Tuscaloosa.
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