No. 1 Alabama drives toward national title

BATON ROUGE, La. — At Alabama, it will go down as a crimson version of “The Drive.”

For AJ McCarron, it confirmed what the Tide already knew — this guy is a heck of a quarterback. He saved the season on a Saturday night in Death Valley and most likely propelled himself into the thick of the Heisman Trophy race. When it was done, the tears flowed. “Just so many emotions running through me,” McCarron said after embracing his parents behind the end zone. “Sometimes it can be a lot of pressure playing here at this university, especially with all the tradition of winning and everything.”

Alabama (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) remained perfect on the season and No. 1 in the rankings with a stirring 21-17 victory over LSU, clearing what looks to be its most difficult hurdle on the road back to the national championship game.

Down by a field goal and 72 yards from the end zone, with just 94 seconds remaining and no timeouts, the junior engineered a drive for the ages.

Three straight completions to get into scoring position. Then a perfectly called screen pass to T.J. Yeldon when the Tigers blitzed.

The result was a 28-yard touchdown that won it for the Tide. McCarron needed all of 49 seconds to shred one of college football’s toughest defences, a unit that had totally shut him down for almost the entire second half.

“He was locked in,” said Alabama running back Eddie Lacy. “He’s always locked in for every game, but it was something different this time, this drive. I mean, he knew he had to make plays. He got the plays in. He did exactly what he was supposed to do, made the right reads and made the right passes. You can’t ask for any more from AJ McCarron.”