Well, the Alabama Crimson Tide win an ugly one against a rugged Kentucky Wildcats squad who, with the help of multiple miscues from the number two team in the nation, hung in the game until the bitter end.  Despite three turnovers, two missed field goals, and a few too many penalties to count,  the Tide held on for a 17-14 win this afternoon at home in Tuscaloosa.

The Crimson Tide started off the game with their usual intensity taking their second possession into the end zone on a 78 yard run from Glen Coffee.  That possession was followed later in the first quarter by a fumble recovery taken 4 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Rolando McClain.  The wheels began to fall off from there.

After already missing a 35 yard field goal with their first trip into the red zone, their second trip did not prove to be any better.  Glen Coffee committed his first of two fumbles at the Kentucky 3 yard line to keep the Wildcats in the game still only down two touchdowns.  The Tide proceeded to do absolutely nothing on offense for the rest of the first half taking the 14-0 lead into the half.

After a lackluster performance by both squads for most of the third quarter, the upset watch was put into full alert.  After a 37 yard gain on a wide receiver screen, Kentucky came back with the exact same play to the opposite side of the field resulting in a 26 yard touchdown pass from Mike Hartline to Dicky Lyons Jr.  cutting the deficit to 14-7 with about 6 minutes left in the third quarter.  The ensuing drive for Alabama looked promising until it ended with a 41 yard field goal attempt missed again by Leigh Tiffin with approximately 14 minutes left in the game.

After both defenses came up with big 3rd down stops, the Crimson Tide offense finally got on track behind an offensive line that earlier in the game struggled with multiple holding calls.  Glen Coffee took the ball once again into the Kentucky red zone, but coughed up the football for the second time in the game.  Luckily, the football rolled out of bounds without a Kentucky player recovering it, giving the Tide a reprieve and the football at the twelve yard line with less than four minutes to go in the game.

Alabama ran the ball three more times but came up short and were forced to kick a 24 yard field goal which put the game out of reach with 2:15 left on the clock.  Or so we thought.  With less than a minute to go in the game, starting safety Rashad Johnson blew a coverage resulting in a 48 yard touchdown pass from Mike Hartline to DeMoreo Ford with 40 seconds left in the game cutting the score to 17-14, but it was too little too late as a botched onside kick allowed the Tide to walk out of Bryant-Denny Stadium with a 17-14 victory.

Besides the 218 rushing yards by Glen Coffee and a defense that stood strong for most of the game, the Crimson Tide had little else to be happy about.  Alabama committed 10 penalties for 92 yards and gave the ball away three different times.  Leigh Tiffin also missed two field goals.  With an off week coming up before facing an Ole Miss squad that is coming off a huge win in the Swamp against Florida, Coach Nick Saban has a long time to earn his extremely large paycheck and correct all the miscues at practice starting Monday.

Although they kept a now 4 and 1 Kentucky team in it for most of the game today, the Tide did squeak by with a win and dodge the upset bullet that has been making its rounds through the Top 25 for the past few weeks.  Every game is not going to be pretty and they proved that today.  However, the difference between playing for a National Championship and watching at home is when you can win the ugly ones and keep moving forward.  This was the first time Alabama has really been pushed all season, and despite all the miscues, they prevailed.  Look for Coach Saban to have his men ready on October 18th when Houston Nutt and the Ole Miss Rebels come into Tuscaloosa, Alabama.