BATON ROUGE &045; For most of the game, the Tigers looked like they were trying to find a way to lose.

But time and time again, the LSU defense bailed the team out, leading the way to a 26-10 victory over Alabama for the Tigers.

An early third quarter interception in the end zone prevented what looked like a sure Alabama touchdown. LSU’s Alley Broussard fumbled deep in the Tigers’ own territory, giving the Crimson Tide the ball at the Tigers’ 13.

But Alabama quarterback Spencer Pennington threw an interception to LSU’s Corey Webster. Webster appeared to have pushed off before the interception, but no penalty was called.

LSU head coach Nick Saban said he didn’t see the play. Alabama head coach Mike Shula refused to comment on it.

Later in the third, LSU defensive end Marcus Spears sacked Pennington, forcing a fumble that LSU’s Cameron Vaughn picked up and ran 8 yards for a touchdown, giving the Tigers their first lead of the game.

&uot;It was a great play by the defense &045;the cornerbacks holding off the receivers and me getting back there to cause the fumble,&uot; Spears said.

Saban credited the defense with the win.

&uot;What a great second half, coming back out great defensively, scoring a touchdown defensively for the third time this season, saving a touchdown after a turnover be coming up with an interception in the end zone,&uot;

Saban said.

It appeared the Tigers had recovered another Alabama fumble late in the third, but running back Aaron Johns was ruled to have been down before the ball came loose.

And in the fourth quarter, a Pennington sack forced the Tide to punt from their own end zone, ending any serious hopes for an Alabama win.

&uot;Our guys are a physical football team,&uot; Shula said. &uot;They are very good, but we can’t not take advantage of things that we didn’t and we can’t turn the ball over. I think that is what the game came down to.&uot;

With 10 minutes left in the contest, the LSU offense came to life, led by running back Joseph Addai. Addai scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, to give LSU a 16-point cushion and allowing Saban to relax.

&uot;We do a lot of things wrong, we’re not always pretty,&uot; Saban said. &uot;We can complain about how much we throw the ball and many we complete, but the one thing we do is we have come back four times and won.&uot;

LSU’s anemic offense had good field position to work with on the drives that led to its two field goals and its fourth-quarter touchdown, again thanks to the work of the defense.

For the first three quarters, the LSU defense outscored the LSU offense 7-6. Addai ended that trend with a 35-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, giving LSU a 20-10 lead and effectively sealing up the victory.

&uot;We weren’t really worrying about scoring, just running the play,&uot; Addai said. &uot;Everybody did their job, the linemen, the wide receivers, the quarterback, and it worked.&uot;

But the first half was a different story. Alabama had the best of play, utilizing good field position to get an early lead.

After three drives &045; two by LSU, one by Alabama &045; to open the game that featured almost absurdly conservative playcalling on both sides, Alabama opened things up with a 48-yard completion to Matt Caddell, giving the Crimson Tide a first-and-goal from the six. The play was one of only a handful of mistakes the Tiger defense made.

Three plays later, Alabama’s Kenneth Darby fought his way into the end zone, giving the Crimson Tide a 7-0 lead with 4:27 left to go in the first quarter.

Mixing in a few more passes didn’t help the Tigers, who still couldn’t manage to make it past midfield. As the second quarter began, LSU’s offense woke up and moved the ball down the field on a 35-yard, eight-play drive that ended in a Ryan Gaudet field goal that put the Tigers on the board.

Each team added a field goal before the half, making the score 10-6 at halftime.

In the second half, neither offense could get anything going early. Alabama’s best chance was ended by Webster’s interception.

Both Tiger quarterbacks &045;JaMarcus Russell and Marcus Randall &045; held on to the ball too long and looked hesitant to throw the ball deep, or, indeed, at all.

Russell’s touchdown throw to Addai was the longest completion of the night for the Tigers, and it was a swing pass Addai broke for big yards.

&uot;We came out in the first half and played really well,&uot; Pennington said. &uot;And we had momentum and we didn’t do that in the second half. You play like we did, things aren’t going to turn out the way you want to.&uot;