No. 2 LSU overcomes mistakes, rallies past Alabama

The mark of a good team is the ability to overcome mistakes and still pull out a victory.

And that’s just what LSU did in its come-from-behind 41-34 win at Alabama on Saturday.

The Tigers (8-1 overall, 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference) had 130 yards in penalties, three costly turnovers and two special teams breakdowns, but did manage to score 17 points in the fourth quarter to take command in the SEC West race and beat former coach Nick Saban in the process. LSU now has a one-game lead in its division over Alabama (6-3, 4-2) and Auburn (7-3, 4-2). After a non-conference game this week at home against Louisiana Tech, the Tigers finish with games at Ole Miss (3-7, 0-6) and home against Arkansas (6-3, 2-3). The SEC Championship is Saturday, Dec. 1 in Atlanta.

On Saturday, LSU got a 1-yard run from Jacob Hester with just under 90 seconds left in the game for the victory. The Tigers jumped out to a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter, but Alabama scored 24 consecutive points to lead 27-17 late in the third quarter. LSU tied the game with a 61-yard touchdown pass from Matt Flynn to Demetrius Byrd with 20 seconds left in the third quarter and a 49-yard field goal from Colt David with 11:21 left in the game. Alabama retook the lead in the middle of the fourth quarter on a 61-yard punt return, but a connection from Flynn to Early Doucet for 32 yards and a score tied the game at 34 with 2:49 left.

The final score was set up when Chad Jones registered a sack and forced a fumble that was recovered at the Alabama 3-yard line. The LSU defense held Alabama to 254 yards of total offense, including only 20 on the ground. Meanwhile the Tigers rolled up 475 yards of total offense with 388 of that coming in the passing game.

Flynn threw for 353 yards on 24-of-44 passes. He was sacked three times and threw three interceptions (all in the first half). Hester led all rushers with 50 yards on 16 attempts. Byrd caught six passes for 144 yards.

The LSU defense allowed only 30 yards on the final 22 plays of the game and were led by Darry Beckwith and Glenn Dorsey, who each had seven tackles. Kirston Pittman, Jones and Tyson Jackson each had two sacks, while Dorsey had one.

Early on, Alabama took a brief 3-0 lead but the Tigers answered with a David 43-yard field goal with 6:05 left in the first quarter. LSU upped its lead to 14 points with touchdowns by Doucet and Hester. The Tigers also had a field-goal attempt partially blocked in the first half.

This Saturday will be LSU’s Homecoming and the Tigers will welcome Louisiana Tech to Tiger Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the game will only be available through Tiger Vision, the university’s pay-per-view service. The Bulldogs are 4-5 overall and have won their last two games after enduring a four-game losing streak earlier in the season. They are led by quarterback Zac Champion, who has thrown for 1,657 yards this year. He also had nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. Patrick Jackson (750 yards, eight touchdowns) and Daniel Porter (582 yards, six touchdowns) are the main threats on the ground for Louisiana Tech. The leading receiver is former South Terrebonne High School standout Phillip Livas, who has caught 20 passes for a team-best 308 yards and two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came in the form of a 70-yard catch on Saturday to help the Bulldogs beat Idaho, 28-16. Also in the game, Jackson rushed for 150 yards.

The game will be Louisiana Tech’s third this season against a ranked team. In the second week of the season, the Bulldogs lost to No. 20 Hawaii, 45-44 and the following week lost at California, 42-12. Those losses started Louisiana Tech on its four-game losing streak. Also during that streak, the Bulldogs fell to Ole Miss, 24-0. Since ending the skid, Louisiana Tech has averaged 28 points per game and allowed just over 25 points per contest.

Lady Tigers win SEC West

With a 1-0 overtime win over Arkansas on Friday on the road, the LSU soccer team captured its first SEC West title in school history. The lone goal in the game was scored by Rachel Yapez seven minutes into overtime. Michelle Makasini was credited with the assist on the game-winning goal from 10 yards out. Yapez ended the regular season as the team’s leading scorer and the top scorer in the SEC with 13 goals.

LSU (11-3-6 overall, 5-2-4 in the SEC) will now head into the SEC Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Lady Tigers’ first game will be Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Auburn in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Volleyball takes two

Marina Skender became the 15th player in LSU history to record 1,000 career kills, and the second Tiger this season, as the LSU volleyball team swept Tennessee, 30-17, 30-22, 31-29, on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Center.

With the win, the Tigers posted their third-straight 20-win season, improving to 20-6 on the year and 11-5 in Southeastern Conference play.

Skender became the 15th player in school history to record her 1000th career kill and only the sixth junior to reach the milestone. She joins with Kyna Washington, who also hit the 1,000-kill mark earlier this season, to become the first two Tigers to post their 1,000th career kill in the same season since Ivana Kuzmic and Jelena Mijatovic accomplished the feat in 2004. Skender and Washington also became the first two juniors to reach the 1,000-kill plateau in the same year since Nyla Shepherd and Julie Stempel in 1990. Skender led the match with 15 kills and 16 digs. Washington added 15 kills and 12 digs. Lauren DeGirolamo chimed in with 10 kills in the game and eight blocks.

On Friday night in Baton Rouge, LSU topped Kentucky. In that match Elena Martinez tied a school record with 34 digs.

DeGirolamo and Skender each had 20 kills. DeGirolamo and Brittnee Cooper each had nine blocks. Washington added 16 kills, while Cooper had 12 kills.

The Lady Tigers will play two road matches this week (Mississippi State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Alabama at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday).