Alabama Avoids Catastrophe, Beats Tennessee 12-10

NFL News - October 25th, 2009 - Written by John

After becoming the top-ranked BCS team in the nation, Alabama was thought to give little doubt about their prominance, favored in Week Eight by 15 against Tennessee Volunteers.

It was considerably closer.

The Crimson Tide needed two blocked kicks, one coming in the last seconds of the game, to stay undefeated with a nerve-wracking 12-10 win in Tuscaloosa.

350-pound Terrence Cody, nicknamed "Mount Cody", had both blocks. On the final play of the game, he stepped in front of a 44-yard attempt by Daniel Lincoln and ripped off his helmet in celebration.

“I didn’t really get off the ground,” Cody said. “I just reached my arm up. That’s how I got it. I knocked (the blocker) back. He was on his back.”

Overall the Volunteers missed three kicks. It spoiled an effort in which the Volunteers outgained Alabama by almost 100 yards and held the home team out of the end zone for the first time in over two years. It was a golden chance to give Lane Kiffin his first signature win in his inaugural season with Tennessee.

The Volunteers scored a late touchdown against the nation's no.1 defense, then recovered an on-side kick with a minute left. The score, an 11-yard pass from Jonathan Crompton to Gerald Jones, was set up by Mark Ingram's first collegiate fumble that was recovered by Eric Berry. That made it 12-10 and, after the on-side recovery, Crompton stayed hot, moving the ball into Tide territory with a 23-yard pass on second down. But Lincoln's kick was low and wasn't able to get over the half dozen players who penetrated the line and leaped well above the angle of the ball.

“It’s a difficult loss to deal with,” Kiffin said. “You come into a hostile environment and play the No. 1 team in the country, as I said before by far the No. 1 team in the country and the best-coached team around. You come in here and outgain them by (nearly) 100 yards and miss three field goals.

“I don’t believe in moral victories, we should have won that game.”

Tide kicker Leigh Tiffin, who was all-but-accused of cheating last week by using a piece of tape to spot his kicks against South Carolina, kicked four field goals for Alabama. His game-winner was a 49-yarder that barely had enough distance.

“Neither was an exceptionally good kick, but they both went through and that’s what counts,” Tiffin said about two of his field goals. “I don’t know if I watched either one of them go through.”

Alabama is off this week, but has another marquee game against LSU after that. Ingram, who is considered to be the top Heisman threat to Tim Tebow, ran for 99 yards and became only the third back in NCAA Football to break the century mark this year.

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