Alabama Crimson Tide	Louisiana State Tigers ©
Played November 7, 1987 at Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  

 

Teams' Belt Records

 

Team	Belt Reigns	Overall Record				Home Record				Away Record				Neutral Record
		W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT
Alabama	3	19	5	0	.792	9	4	0	.692	7	0	0	1.000	3	1	0	.750
Louisiana State ©	2	5	3	0	.625	3	3	0	.500	2	0	0	1.000

 

The 13^th ranked, 6-2 Alabama Crimson Tide of Bill Curry met the 5^th ranked, 7-0-1 Louisiana State of coach Mike Archer with the chance to be Belt Champion for the 2^nd time this season.  Earlier, the Tide had defeated Penn State to become champs but lost to Florida in their first defense.  Alabama’s defense forced 5 Louisiana State turnovers while the offense held the ball for 40:25 as the Crimson Tide upset the Tigers 22-10 to reclaim The Belt.  Louisiana State had to play without All-SEC QB Tommy Hodson for most of the game since he had not practiced all week due to a knee injury.  Back-up QB Mickey Guidry led the Tigers until the middle of the 4^th quarter but Hodson was not able to rally the offense.  The Crimson Tide took the lead in the 1^st quarter when PK Phil Doyle hit field goals from 45 & 29 yards giving Alabama a 6-0 lead entering the 2^nd quarter.  Louisiana State got on the board in the 2^nd quarter when PK David Browndyke hit a 37-yard field goal & RB Victor Jones scored on a 9-yard touchdown run giving the Tigers a 10-6 lead at the half.  Although the Tigers lead at the half, Alabama had dominated on the field & that showed in the 2^nd half.  Midway through the 3^rd quarter, Alabama's All-SEC LB Derrick Thomas stripped Guidry of the ball & recovered at the Crimson Tide's 39-yard line.  The fumble recovery not only stopped the Louisiana State drive but it set-up an 11-play, 61-yard scoring drive for Alabama with RB Bo Wright scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Crimson Tide back in front at 13-10.  Midway through the 4^th quarter, Doyle hit a 32-yard field goal to push the lead to 16-10.  The kick came after Alabama turned to some trickery to keep the Tigers' defense off-balance as Crimson Tide's RB Kerry Goode completed a 40-yard pass to WR Marco Battle on a halfback option pass.  Hodson came into the game for Louisiana State with seven minutes left but Alabama's CB Gene Jelks intercepted his first pass attempt at the Louisiana State 30-yard line.  The Crimson Tide got the clinching score just 4 plays later on a 10-yard touchdown run by All-SEC RB Bobby Humphrey.  Hodson drove the Tigers towards a score late in the game but Alabama's CB John Mangum intercepted his final pass in the end zone.  Humphrey rushed for 177 yards with his touchdown while QB Jeff Dunn threw for just 62 yards with an interception.  For Louisiana State, Guidry threw for 115 yards while Hodson threw for 65 yards but 2 interceptions & All-American WR Wendell Davis had 9 catches for 101 yards.  The Tigers finished the season 10-1-1; ranked 5^th nationally while the Crimson Tide finished 7-5.  Louisiana State would play for The Belt again in 2007.