With about five-and-a-half minutes left in Saturday's epic battle between No. 5 Alabama and No. 17 Tennessee, the Volunteers were looking at a first and goal from the Alabama three-yard line - three yards from taking control of the game.
Yet, the way the Crimson Tide defense has been playing this year, three yards might as well be a mile.
As it turned out, Tennessee committed a false start, ran the ball for a loss of a yard, committed an illegal forward pass penalty and then coughed up the game. On the next play, with the Volunteers facing third and goal from the 15, Tennessee's Arian Foster snagged a swing pass and bounded up the field toward the end zone. On his way, though, he learned a little about what Alabama has been doing all season: winning games with defense.
Just three yards from a touchdown that would have put Tennessee up 10-3, Alabama's Roman Harper stripped the ball away into the end zone where it was recovered by Alabama. The Tide, having wrestled away the momentum with the fumble, turned up the field and eventually kicked a field goal with 13 seconds left to stay undefeated.
The 6-3 victory was a huge one for Alabama in a rivalry that has been extremely heated over the last decade. The game, billed as a slugfest between two of the SEC's top teams, turned out to be a coronation ceremony for the Tide's vicious defense. Alabama held Tennessee to just 253 yards of offense and held the Volunteers without a touchdown for the first time since 2002, when the Volunteers were beaten 30-3 in the Peach Bowl by Maryland. The Tide caused four turnovers, including the crucial one near the end of the game.
Stout defense has been the trademark of this Alabama team all year. Indeed, Alabama has surrendered just 71 points all season in its way to a 7-0 mark. The only breakdown for the Tide came when they surrendered 21 points early in the season against Southern Mississippi, but one of those touchdowns came on an interception return.
Alabama's defense has been even better in big games. Before this week's game, the Tide had faced their biggest test in an Oct. 1 matchup against then-No. 5 Florida. The defense came to play, picking off two passes and holding the explosive Gators to three points en route to a 31-3 win.
That defense has reminded some of the 1992 defense that led Alabama to a perfect record and a national championship. Despite the comparisons, an undefeated season may be out of reach for the Tide. The team still has a Nov. 12 date with No. 7 LSU followed by a trip to No. 19 Auburn the following week. If Alabama can survive those two, it will likely meet No. 4 Georgia, another currently undefeated team with national title aspirations.
If Alabama wins those three, it still may find itself on the outside looking in when the national championship is handed out at the Rose Bowl. Right now, it looks pretty likely that USC will meet Texas on Jan. 4 in Pasadena, Calif.
But USC has not looked like the immortal team it was last year, as its defense has struggled at times. Still, the Trojans have scored no less than 34 points, and, until anybody can knock them off, they look to be a good bet for the Rose Bowl.
While nobody has beaten the Trojans on the field, Texas jumped them in the BCS standings this week after its 52-17 drubbing of in-state rival No. 10 Texas Tech. The Longhorns moved to 7-0 with their win over the other undefeated team in Texas.
Despite the lopsided score, the Red Raiders appeared to have a shot in this one in the second quarter. The defense picked off Vince Young twice in the early going and at one point had the game tied at ten.
After giving up a touchdown to make it 17-10, Texas Tech still appeared to be in good shape with a second and five at the Texas 35. The offense stalled, though, and Texas Tech's punt was blocked, setting up a two-play, 23-yard Texas scoring drive to blow it open at 24-10.
The Raiders stayed calm and marched the ball down the field, picking Texas apart with short passes. On third and 12, Taurean Henderson took a delay from quarterback Cory Hodges and streaked up to the Texas four-yard line for a first down. Two plays later, however, Hodges threw an interception to Texas's Tim Crowder. Four plays later, the Longhorns tacked on another touchdown, and the rout was on.
Texas is now 7-0 for the first time since 1976.
