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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Only on the big screen could Louisiana
Tech have scripted a better ending.
Trailing by six with only two seconds to play, its star
quarterback out of the game and facing fourth down, Tech went to
backup Brian Stallworth. He threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Sean
Cangelosi on Saturday to give the Bulldogs a 29-28 upset over No.
18 Alabama.
|  | | Alabama's defense couldn't lower the boom on Louisiana Tech when it came down to crunch time. |
"If you wrote this script for a movie, no one would go watch it
because they would think it so unbelievable," said first-year
Louisiana Tech coach Jack Bicknell. "Oh my gosh, I can't even put
it into words."
Tech (2-2) trailed 28-22 and was facing fourth-and-26 without
Rattay, the 1998 national total-offense leader who left the game
two plays earlier with an injury.
Rattay, who was being taken to the lockerroom on a stretcher
with a sprained right ankle, made the trainers stop so he could
watch the final seconds.
He saw Stallworth overcome improbable odds with the heave into
the end zone to the 6-foot-4 Cangelosi, whose leaping catch set the
stage for Kevin Pond to make up for two earlier missed extra-point
kicks.
"His arm is not even warmed up and he goes in there and throws
it. I just told him to throw it up and give us a chance," Bicknell
said. "And Cangelosi, he catches everything. If you throw it to
him, he'll catch it."
Alabama (2-1), which had four turnovers and 10 penalties for 95
yards, lost in its final game of the century in historic Legion
Field. It was also the Crimson Tide's second straight loss to
Louisiana Tech, which beat Alabama 26-20 two years ago on
homecoming.
"This is a real tough loss. They made the plays and we're not
living up to expectations," said Alabama defensive end Reggie
Grimes, who left the field in tears. "I'm just so sick of it."
Alabama coach Mike DuBose, who admitted in August to lying about
a personal relationship with an employee after the school settled a
sexual harassment claim against him, was booed as he left the
field.
"It's pretty obvious I did a poor job getting our team ready to
play," DuBose said. "You have to make plays in critical
situations and we didn't."
Louisiana Tech got the ball with 2:36 to play and Rattay drove
the Bulldogs to the Alabama 16. Kenny King sacked him for a loss of
seven yards and Rattay limped off the field during the Bulldogs'
final timeout.
Stallworth, a sophomore, came on and was sacked for 10 yards by
Canary Knight. But with the clock running down, he ran back to the
line, took the snap and connected with the leaping Cangelosi.
"There was no time to get nervous because if I did it would
mean I wasn't ready," Stallworth said. "I knew a few plays before
that I had to get ready because I saw Tim limping. But I also felt
like Tim being the person he is, he wasn't going to give up a game
like this. So I just tried to stay calm."
After Tech's go-ahead touchdown, Alabama's Shaun Alexander
returned the ensuing kickoff about 15 yards before lateraling the
ball to Santonio Beard, who ran it to the Louisiana Tech 25 before
being pushed out of bounds to end the game.
Alexander, who had three touchdowns for the third straight game,
finished with 263 all-purpose yards. He had a 76-yard kickoff
return for a touchdown in the third quarter.
"They put me in there to see if Louisiana Tech was crazy enough
to kick to me and they were," Alexander said about his two kickoff
returns.
Alexander scored on a 14-yard run with 9:19 to play that put the
Tide up 25-22. Chris Kemp's 32-yard field goal made it 28-22.
Alabama, which said all week its best defense of Rattay would be
to keep him off the field, couldn't do it.
The Tide struggled to move the ball most of the day and had only
306 yards, 173 of which came on Alexander's running.
"I thought we made some good defensive plays, but we weren't
nearly as good offensively," DuBose said.
Louisiana Tech had 416 yards and Rattay threw for 368 yards and
three touchdowns. Cangelosi had eight catches for 147 yards and two
touchdowns.
Alabama took its first lead of the game with 2:46 to play in the
third quarter on Alexander's 30-yard run. Andrew Zow connected with
Freddie Milons on a 2-point conversion that gave the Tide an 18-15
lead.
Rattay's pass was intercepted by Milo Lewis and returned 17
yards to set up Alexander's TD run on the next play. Zow then
handed off to Alexander on the first play and the senior broke
through the middle of the field and went into the end zone
untouched.
Louisiana Tech retook the lead 22-18 with 13:31 to play on
Rattay's 12-yard pass to James Jordan. The Bulldogs set up the
score after Foster Bradberry intercepted Zow's pass on the Tide 33.
Louisiana Tech took advantage of Alabama's sloppy play to lead
12-3 at halftime. The Tide fumbled four times, losing three, and
was penalized five times for 46 yards.
The Bulldogs took advantage of penalties on their first scoring
drive after Rattay had moved them to the Alabama 23. The Tide was
hit with a 10-yard holding penalty and a 10-yard pass interference
call on consecutive plays and, three plays later, a holding call
gave Tech a first down at the 6. Tech went ahead 6-0 on Rattay's
4-yard pass to Jordan.
The Bulldogs missed the point after and Alabama was hit with a
15-yard personal foul after the play.
Alabama was flagged for fouls five times to Louisiana Tech's one
and DuBose argued with the officials as he ran off the field at
halftime.
"The officiating was fine," DuBose said. "I get onto them
every game, but when I look at film they always do a better job
officiating then I do coaching."
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Louisiana Tech Clubhouse
Alabama Clubhouse
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