Alabama holds down Tennessee 6-3

By Darrell Laurant  |   Saturday, October 22, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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It's a curious thing -- the less the fifth-ranked University of Alabama football team scores, the more it wins.

After surviving an upset bid by Mississippi 13-10 last weekend, Mike Shula's Crimson Tide (7-0, 5-0) lowered the ante even more on Saturday, beating Tennessee in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 1930, 6-3.

For the second straight week, it was Jamie Christenson, a sophomore from Norcross, GA, who provided the winning points, nailing a 34-yard field goal with 13 seconds left. But that came only after the Alabama defense staved off a serious threat from the 17th-ranked Volunteers well inside the 'Bama red zone

Tennessee had first and goal at the three inside the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter, in fact, and the Crimson Tide unbeaten streak looked to be history. But Volunteer RB Arian Foster was stood up for a yard loss and Tennessee QB Rick Clausen was penalized on the next play for attempting a pass beyond the line of scrimmage. On third down, Foster caught a swing pass from Clausen and was drilled by Roman Harper. The ball popped loose and bounced out of the end zone for a touchback.

Tide QB Brodie Croyle, who seems to do just enough to win, then found WR D.J. Hall for a 43-yard gain, and an 11-yard run from Kenneth Darby put Christenson in position to split the uprights. Erik Ainge's final desperation pass was intercepted by senior LB DeMeco Ryans.

Ryans also set the table for Christenson's 33-yard field goal in the third period by recovering Lucas Taylor's fumbled punt at midfield. Tennessee's James Wilhoit countered with a 33-yarder early in the fourth period.

Tennesee (3-3, 2-3) had beaten Alabama in nine of the previous 10 meetings. For Philip Fulmer's Vols, who lost three fumbles, it was the first time they had failed to score a touchdown since a 30-3 loss to Maryland in the 2002 Peach Bowl.
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