University of Tennessee Athletics
Clausen Is Crisp In Vols' 35-24 Win Over Alabama
October 20, 2001 | Football
Oct 20, 2001
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By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The fourth quarter belonged to Casey Clausen and Travis Stephens.
Clausen and Stephens capped big games with late 1-yard touchdown runs as No. 11 Tennessee beat Alabama 35-24 on Saturday.
Clausen was 21-of-28 for 293 yards and two scores while Stephens racked up 33 carries for 162 yards and a pair of TDs for the Volunteers (4-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference).
"With the game on the line, we needed to step up and make plays," Clausen said. "There were a bunch of guys out there that stepped up."
With the win, Tennessee became the first team to win seven straight games over the Crimson Tide (3-4, 2-3) and exorcised a 26-24 loss to Georgia in its last outing.
Alabama, which last beat the Vols at home in 1991, has blown fourth-quarter leads three times in the last four games.
"The kids played their hearts out," Tide coach Dennis Franchione said. "We fought to the end. We are very proud of that. We're close to getting their and we are getting there."
Alabama's defense still couldn't stop anybody in the fourth.
Tennessee gained 156 yards in the quarter. Alabama, meanwhile, lost three.
Stephens was the workhorse, running 14 times in the final quarter for his fourth straight 30-carry day.
Clausen was nearly flawless in leading a 16-play 86 yard drive that consumed nearly nine minutes of the quarter. He polished it off by scampering untouched into the end zone on a 1-yard bootleg for a 28-24 lead.
It was the fifth straight third-down conversion on the drive.
After Alabama went three and out, on consecutive Tyler Watts incomplete passes, the Vols quickly struck again.
Clausen hit Kelley Washington on long pass play and Donte' Stallworth fell on Washington's fumble for a 55-yard gain to the Tide's 14.
On fourth down from the 1, coach Phillip Fulmer opted to go for the touchdown. Stephens cashed in on the gamble with his second touchdown.
"I felt like we could go in there and knock them out," said Fulmer, who improved to 8-1 against Alabama. "We didn't want to give them a chance to go down the field."
Alabama was the first team to have success running the ball against the Vols, gaining 162 yards on the ground against a defense that hadn't yielded more than 75 in a game and came in ranked second nationally.
Backup tailback Santonio Beard rushed 10 times for a career-high 141 yards, including a 69-yarder to set up the go-ahead score on the final play of the third quarter.
Ahmaad Galloway, who gained just 10 yards in six carries, scored on a 4-yard pitch two plays later for a 24-21 lead.
Alabama's Tyler Watts was 10-of-23 for 165 yards and threw a pair of scoring strikes to Sam Collins.
Facing constant pressure, he didn't come close to getting his fourth straight 100-yard rushing day. He lost a yard on 13 carries.
"He gave us a chance," Franchione said. "He missed a couple of throws that he normally would make, but I thought he did a couple of good things."
The Tide still go into their open week on yet another sour note.
"We have to bounce back and be ready," Watts said. "We can't dwell on this."
Clausen thrived with his receiving corps finally close to 100 percent.
Donte' Stallworth, who hadn't played since the opener with a fractured wrist, had five catches for 80 yards and a 21-yard score. Washington had four catches for 93 yards, all in the second half, despite a sprained foot.
Watts gave Alabama its first lead, at 17-14, with a 7-yarder to Collins to cap the opening drive of the second half. His only other pass was a 39-yarder to Freddie Milons on third down.
Clausen's 21-yard TD across the middle to Jason Witten put the Vols back up 21-17 late in the third.
"Coach said that you dream about these games the third weekend in October," said Witten, who had nine catches coming in and finished with seven for 91 yards. "It was time for someone to step up and luckily it was me."
The lead lasted 71 seconds. Beard burst up the middle, shook off a tackler at the line and raced to the Vols' 11 to set up Galloway's TD run.
It was the first rushing TD Tennessee had allowed this season.
It didn't stop the Vols from capping a historic run against the Tide.
Only Sewanee had beaten Alabama six straight times, and that streak endured from 1896-1911.
"Hopefully, we can make it eight, nine or 10 straight," Stephens said.
