Alabama quarterback Blake Sims was just 20-of-45 passing for 209 yards until the final 50 seconds of regulation against LSU on Saturday. But from his final drive through his 6-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White in overtime, the 6-foot, 208-pound former tailback was 6-of-8 for 80 yards.AJ McCarron led a late comeback two years ago at LSU's hostile Tiger Stadium that gave the former Alabama quarterback a memory he could forever cherish.
On Saturday night, Blake Sims created one for his own as well.
With his Crimson Tide trailing 13-10 in the final 50 seconds of regulation and without any time outs, Sims calmly led the offense 55 yards in 47 seconds to set up a 27-yard field goal by former Calhoun High standout Adam Griffith. Sims then led a 25-yard touchdown drive in overtime that propeled No. 4 Alabama to a stirring 20-13 victory over the No. 14 Tigers.
So what was running through his mind when 50 seconds were all that separated Alabama from being eliminated from college football's inaugural four-team playoff?
"When we got in the huddle, I said, 'Guys, this is the game where we can make history,'" Sims told reporters in the early hours of Sunday morning. "I said, 'We can sit down in December and watch other teams perform and get to the championship game, or we can do what we've got to do.'"
Sims had his most inaccurate performance of the season in Baton Rouge, completing just 20 of 45 passes for 209 yards. However, from the final 50 seconds of regulation through his 6-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White in overtime, the 6-foot, 208-pound former tailback was 6-of-8 for 80 yards.
"I'm really proud of the way he hung in there, because things weren't going well for him," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said in his postgame news conference. "In the past, Blake would have gotten frustrated, but he showed a lot of resiliency today and hung in there and made the plays when he needed to make them."
Alabama has little time to savor Saturday night's thriller, with the Tide hosting No. 1 Mississippi State this week. The game will be televised by CBS at 3:30 p.m.
Sims said last week that he watched the tape of Alabama's 21-17 win at LSU in 2012 to study how McCarron kept his composure. The Crimson Tide took a 14-3 halftime lead two years ago before being overrun in the second half, when Alabama managed just 49 yards until McCarron directed a five-play, 72-yard touchdown drive in 43 seconds, which left just 51 seconds in the game.
It was more of the same Saturday night, as Alabama led 10-7 at intermission before getting throttled. The Tide had 35 second-half yards when they took over at their own 35 facing the three-point deficit.
"If you think positive thoughts, then positive things will happen," Sims said.
The positives were abundant for Alabama when Sims found White for 16 yards to LSU's 10-yard line. That was followed by Griffith tying the game, and then regulation ended when Reuben Foster made a jarring hit on Leonard Fournette during the ensuing kickoff.
On the first play of overtime, Alabama lined up in a unique formation, and Sims found Brandon Greene for a 24-yard gain to LSU's 1.
"When we made that field goal, our energy level just went up," Saban said. "I didn't like our energy level at halftime, and I didn't like our energy level in the second half as a team. When we put that drive together, our energy level really went up."
Leon Brown was flagged for a personal foul after the pass to Greene, but Derrick Henry's rushing set up a first-and-goal. Brown also was flagged for a false start, but Alabama overcame that, too, with the Sims touchdown to White.
Like many of its predecessors, this Alabama-LSU showdown was physical and low scoring and an aberration of most games played in this up-tempo age.
"There was nothing spread about that," Saban said. "We were really built to be able to beat a team like LSU. When we came in the league, that's what this league was. It's not that way anymore. You need smaller, faster guys to do all this spread stuff, but if you're going to beat this team, you're going to need big guys.
"This was a very physical game. It was direct run after direct run. Give their players a lot of credit, but give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there and stopping them when we had to stop them."
Tide tidbits
Junior receiver Amari Cooper had eight catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, and he is now No. 1 on the school charts for career (2,951) and single-season (1,215) receiving yards. ... Saturday's triumph improved the Crimson Tide to just 5-8 all-time in overtime games. ... Junior-college defensive lineman Jarran Reed racked up 15 tackles against the Tigers after having amassed 20 all season. ... Junior tailback T.J. Yeldon, who sprained his ankle and lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, surpassed 3,000 rushing yards for his career and ranks sixth in Crimson Tide history with 3,029. ... Alabama has scored in the first half of 98 consecutive games, the longest streak in the nation.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.