Alabama Defeats Iowa State by Foot

L.A. Times Archives

Dec. 28, 2001 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

SHREVEPORT, La. — Iowa State Coach Dan McCarney thought the kick was good, and so did his players.

Luckily for Alabama, the Cyclones’ potential game-winning field goal floated wide right by a few inches to preserve the Crimson Tide’s 14-13 victory in the Independence Bowl on Thursday night.

It capped a miserable special teams performance by Iowa State (7-5), including two missed field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter and a blocked punt that set up Alabama’s go-ahead score.

“I thought it was good,” McCarney said of Tony Yelk’s 47-yard attempt with 38 seconds left. “The guy who has the best seat in the house said it was no good, so I have to trust his judgment.”

Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow threw a 27-yard scoring pass to Terry Jones Jr. with 4:44 left, two plays after Waine Bacon blocked Yelk’s punt.

“Thank God Terry Jones had long fingernails,” Alabama Coach Dennis Franchione said. “It seemed like that ball was in the air for about 10 minutes.”

Iowa State had a chance to go ahead, driving into field-goal range in the final minute. Yelk and teammates began celebrating as his kick headed for the uprights, thinking the kick was going through. Instead, it was his third miss.

Alabama (7-5) picked up its fourth straight victory despite a sputtering offense and Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace’s 284 yards passing.

It was the Crimson Tide’s record 29th bowl win, but the first since a 17-14 victory over Michigan in the 1997 Outback Bowl.

The Cyclones, playing Alabama for the first time, were trying to gain some recognition playing in consecutive bowls for the first time in 23 years.

“Nobody’s going to take away what we did this season,” McCarney said. “Slowly but surely, we’ve garnered a lot of respect for our program. We’re building a program we can be proud of.”

Bacon blocked Yelk’s punt on what seemed to be a slow-developing play, and Shontua Ray recovered the ball.

“We just knew we needed a big play in the game at that point in time,” Bacon said. “I swam away from my blocker and the punter was right there in my face. I just put my hands up and blocked the ball.”

Two plays later, Zow tossed the ball over Jones’ shoulder to make up for a poor day. Zow was 11 of 19 for 119 yards with an interception.