| 2011 LSU vs. Alabama "Game of the Century" |
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| Date | November 5, 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Bryant–Denny Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Alabama by 4.5[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Tom Ritter[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Million Dollar Band | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 101,821[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Verne Lundquist (play-by-play) Gary Danielson (color) Tracy Wolfson (sideline) |
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The 2011 LSU vs. Alabama football game was an exhibition college football game between the unbeaten LSU Tigers (ranked No. 1 in the nation), and the unbeaten Alabama Crimson Tide (ranked No. 2 in the nation) on November 5, 2011. The game took place at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on the campus of the University of Alabama. Coined a "Game of the Century," this game marked the first time that two Southeastern Conference football teams came into a regular-season matchup undefeated and ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation. In a game dominated by both defenses, LSU won in overtime 9–6.
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The LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide first met in 1895 and continuously since 1964, and entering the 2011 contest Alabama held an overall lead in the all-time series with 45 wins to only 24 for LSU and five ties.[4] Historically, LSU's main rival was Tulane and Alabama's were Auburn and Tennessee. However, since former Tigers' head coach Nick Saban took the head coaching position at Alabama beginning in the 2007 season, the Alabama–LSU game has become a major rivalry game for each school.[5][6]
Entering the 2011 season, both teams were ranked in the top five.[7] Following Alabama's victory over Arkansas and LSU's over West Virginia on September 24, their November 5 game became viewed by many in the national media as a playoff with the winner ultimately advancing to the 2012 BCS National Championship Game.[8][9] When the Week 10 polls were released on October 30, the game officially became the first regular season No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup since the 2006 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game, and the first all-time regular season No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between SEC conference foes.[10][11][12] Additionally, due to the the No. 1 vs. No. 2 rankings against conference rivals and the hype leading up to the matchup, the game became referred to as the "Game of the Century."[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
Entering the 2011 season, LSU opened as the No. 4 ranked team in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.[7] In week one, the Tigers met the No. 3 Oregon Ducks in the Cowboys Classic at Arlington, Texas.[20] Against the hyped Oregon running attack, the LSU defense held the Ducks to less than 100 yards rushing in their 40–27 victory, and with their win moved up to No. 2 and No. 3 in the AP and Coaches' Polls.[20][21] After holding the Northwestern State Demons of the Football Championship Subdivision to minus 4 yards rushing in Baton Rouge, LSU faced ranked opponents on the road in consecutive weeks against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the West Virginia Mountaineers.[22] Against the No. 25 Bulldogs, the Tigers only managed to score a single touchdown, but behind a third strong defensive performance won 19–6.[23]
In what was their third game against a ranked opponent of the season, LSU played their first all-time game against the No. 16 Mountaineers at Morgantown.[24] Although West Virginia was able to outgain the Tigers in total offense 533 to 366 yards, four Mountaineer turnovers resulted in a 47–21 LSU victory.[25] As a result of this win combined with the other two over ranked opponents, LSU was selected the No. 1 team by the AP following week 5.[26] The Tigers returned back home and defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 35–7 in suspended Jordan Jefferson's return and then the No. 17 Florida Gators 41–11.[27][28] After their 38–7 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium, the Tigers were selected as the No. 1 team in both the AP and Coaches' Polls for the first time of the season after the Oklahoma Sooners were upset by Texas Tech Red Raiders.[29][30] The next week, LSU defeated the No. 19 Auburn Tigers 45–10 at home to enter their bye week undefeated and ranked No. 1 for their game against No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.[31]
Entering the game against Alabama, LSU's defense was ranked near the top of all defensive categories nationally. They ranked fourth in total defense (251.38 yards per game), third scoring defense (11.5 points per game) and rushing defense (76.63 yards per game), and tenth in passing defense (174.75 yards per game).[32] The Tigers ranked only second in conference in total, scoring and rushing defense and fourth in passing defense.[32] On offense the Tigers ranked twelfth in scoring offense (39.25 points per game), 31st in rushing offense (189 yards per game), 81st in total offense (372.13 yards per game) and 99th in passing offense (183.13 yards per game).[32] In conference, they ranked second in scoring offense, fourth in rushing offense, sixth in total offense and eighth in passing offense.[32]
Entering the 2011 season, Alabama opened as the No. 2 ranked team in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.[7] After defeating the Kent State Golden Flashes 48–7 in the season opener, Alabama dropped to No. 3 in the AP Poll as a result of LSU's victory over Oregon.[21][33] In Week 2, the Crimson Tide traveled to Beaver Stadium for the first time since 1989 to play the Penn State Nittany Lions.[34] Alabama defeated the No. 23 Nittany Lions 27–11, and returned to Tuscaloosa for a pair of home games against the North Texas Mean Green and the Arkansas Razorbacks.[35] Against North Texas, the Alabama defense was dominant in securing the first shutout for the Crimson Tide since the 2009 season with their 41–0 victory.[36] The following week, Alabama opened conference play with a 38–14 victory over No. 14 Arkansas and then defeated the undefeated No. 12 Florida Gators 38–10 to extend their record to 5–0.[37] With their victory over Florida, the Crimson Tide regained their No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll.[38]
Following the Florida victory, Alabama returned home for their homecoming game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. For the second time of the season, the Alabama defense had a shutout in the 34–0 Crimson Tide victory.[39] After a 52–7 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium, Alabama returned for their annual Third Saturday in October contest against the Tennessee Volunteers.[40] The Crimson Tide defeated Tennessee for the fifth consecutive season with their 37–6 victory to enter their bye week undefeated and ranked No. 2 for their game against No. 1 LSU in Tuscaloosa.[41]
Entering the game against LSU, Alabama's defense was ranked at or near the top of all defensive categories nationally. They ranked first in total defense (180.5 yards per game), scoring defense (6.88 points per game) and rushing defense (44.88 yards per game).[42] The Crimson Tide also nationally ranked second, and first in conference, in pass defense (135.63 yards per game).[42] On offense the Crimson Tide ranked eleventh in scoring offense (39.38 points per game), fourteenth in rushing offense (229.25 yards per game), 23rd in total offense (457.63 yards per game) and 63rd in passing offense (228.38 yards per game).[42] In conference, they ranked first in total, scoring and rushing offense and fourth in passing offense.[42]
Originally marked for The Home Depot SEC on CBS with a start time of 3:30 PM ET, CBS reassigned the game for prime-time television at 8 PM EDT, as part of a three-way trade announced October 23 with CBS and Comcast (which jointly control the Mountain West Conference contract though the MountainWest Sports Network, 40% CBS, 30% Comcast, 30% MWC) swapping games (CBS Sports Network has rights to home games featuring the Service Academies, except Air Force games if assigned to Versus or the CBS/Comcast/MWC joint venture) swapping a later CBS MWC game to Versus, as CBS invoked the Service Academy provisions, and CBS offering "future considerations" to ESPN because CBS had used their standard alloted SEC primetime slot during the season. [43]
The 2011 edition of the Alabama–LSU football rivalry kicked off at 7:14 p.m. CST on November 5, 2011, before a crowd of 101,821 people at Bryant–Denny Stadium, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[44] The game was broadcast nationally in prime time on CBS with Verne Lundquist providing the play-by-play commentary, Gary Danielson providing the color commentary and Tracy Wolfson serving as the sideline reporter.[3]
After winning the coin toss, Alabama elected to receive the ball to open the first half. Marquis Maze received the James Hairston kickoff and returned it to the Alabama 30 yard line where the offense began.[45] Alabama opened with a pair of gains by Trent Richardson on an 18-yard run and then on a 22-yard pass reception from A. J. McCarron to reach the LSU 30 yard line. However the drive stalled on the next three plays. On fourth down, Cade Foster missed a 44-yard field goal wide right and the game remained tied at zero.[45] The Tigers began their first offensive series with Jarrett Lee at quarterback from their own 27-yard line.[46] After gaining a pair of first downs on runs by Spencer Ware and short passes from Lee, LSU's Brad Wing punted the ball out-of-bounds at the Alabama five.[46] After a short gain and an incompletion, McCarron threw a 19-yard pass to Maze for a first down.[45] The Crimson Tide gained another pair of first downs with a Maze reception and three runs each from Richardson and Eddie Lacy before the drive stalled at the LSU 33. Again Foster missed a field goal, this time from 50-yards, and the game remained tied at zero.[45] On the ensuing LSU possession, Ware had a short gain and Lee completed a short pass to Russell Shepard before he threw an interception to Robert Lester at the Alabama 47 yard line.[46] Alabama began their third offensive series with a 19-yard completion from McCarron to Darius Hanks before the end of the first quarter.[45]
After a ten-yard gain by Richardson to start the quarter, Alabama lost a total of seven yards on consecutive plays and a McCarron incompletion on third down set up a third long field goal attempt.[45] This time the 49-yard attempt from Jeremy Shelley was blocked by Bennie Logan and recovered by Eric Reid who returned it to the Alabama 48.[45][46] On this possession, Jordan Jefferson took over as the Tigers' quarterback, and LSU gained a first down on a six-yard Michael Ford run and a pair of short runs by Ware.[46] However, once again the drive stalled and Brad Wing was forced to punt for LSU.[46] Staring from their own four, Lacy had a sort gain before Richardson had four consecutive runs to move the ball to the 39. The following play was Alabama's longest play from scrimmage of the game when McCarron thew a 39-yard pass to Richardson to bring the ball to the LSU 19 yard line.[45] However, for the fourth time in four offensive possessions, the LSU defense held Alabama to a field goal attempt. This time the 34-yard Jeremy Shelley kick was good and the Crimson Tide took a 3–0 lead.[45] After the received the kickoff, LSU began their fourth offensive possession from their own 24. The Tigers opened their drive with runs of 14 and nine yards from Ford, followed by short runs from Ware, Jefferson and Ford again to bring the ball to the Alabama 36.[46] After a five yard substitution penalty, Jefferson completed a 34-yard pass to Russell Shepard to give the Tigers a first and goal from the Alabama eight.[46] After a four yard rush by Ford and a Jefferson incompletion, Dre Kirkpatrick was called for holding that resulted in a first and goal from the Alabama two yard line.[46] After another Jefferson incompletion and a run for no gain by Ford, LSU called time-out, followed by an Alabama time-out in an attempt to ice the kicker, Drew Alleman kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game at 3–3 at the half.[46]
LSU received the ball to start the second half and started their fifth offensive drive from their own 18.[46] After gaining a first down on a short pass an a pair of runs, the Alabama defense stopped the Tigers on their next series to force a punt.[46] Starting from their own 48, Alabama was only able to muster a three and out resulting in their first punt of the night from Cody Mandell.[45] With Lee back at quarterback for LSU, he threw his second interception of the night to Mark Barron to give Alabama possession at the LSU 35.[46] Once again the LSU defense held the Alabama offense in check to set up another long field goal attempt. This time Foster connected on a 46-yard field goal to give the Crimson Tide a 6–3 lead.[45] On the following drive, LSU was able to gain a pair of first downs primarily with only runs by Jefferson and Ford, but again were forced to punt.[46] Starting from their own 11, Alabama was able to gain a pair of first downs on McCarron passes before he threw an interception to Morris Claiborne that was returned to the Alabama 15.[45][46] The quarter ended two plays later after a pair of LSU runs resulted in no gain.[46]
After a two-yard Jefferson run to open the fourth quarter, Alleman kicked a 30-yard field goal to tie the game at 6–6.[46] Alabama began the next series with a two-yard Richardson reception followed by a two-yard run before McCarron connected with Maze for a first down on an 18-yard reception.[45] Richardson then had a three-yard run followed by a 24-yard run to give the Crimson Tide a first down at the LSU 28.[45] On the following play, Maze threw an interception on a trick play to Reid at the LSU one-yard line to give the Tigers possession.[45] After Alabama held LSU to a three-and-out, Wing had a 73-yard punt to give Alabama possession at their own 18.[46] Alabama and LSU would then trade punts on the next three offensive possessions to send the game into overtime tied 6–6.[45][46]
In the overtime period, Alabama was on offense first. After a pair of McCarron incompletions to Richardson, a five-yard substitution penalty and a five-yard quarterback sack by Sam Montgomery, Foster missed a 52 yard field goal.[45] On LSU's possession, Ware had a three-yard rush and then Ford had a 15-yard run to give the Tigers a first down from the Alabama seven.[46] After a pair of runs netting a loss of one yard, on third down Alleman kicked a 25 yard field goal to give LSU the 9–6 victory.[46]
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With the victory, LSU took a one game lead in the SEC Western Division standings over Alabama for a place in the 2011 SEC Championship Game. The following day, Alabama dropped to No. 4 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls and to No. 3 in the BCS standings.[47] LSU remained atop all three polls at No. 1.[48]
On December 4, 2011, the final Bowl Championship Series standings were unveiled with LSU ranked first, followed by and Alabama, setting up a rematch between the two teams in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game.[49][50]
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