Second-Chance PAT Kick by Alabama Foils Florida

No. 21 Alabama ended No. 3-ranked Florida’s winning streak at 30 games at the Swamp on Saturday when Chris Kemp got a second chance on an extra-point attempt in overtime and made it for a 40-39 victory.

In an effort that would have stunned the late Bear Bryant as much as it would have pleased him, the Crimson Tide, 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference, controlled the ball for 41:22, racked up 447 yards and matched Steve Spurrier’s Gators score for score.

By overcoming Florida (4-1, 2-1), the Tide sent the message that ‘Bama is back, despite the tumult that had engulfed the program this season.

“I am so proud of this coaching staff and this football team for staying together, for believing in each other,” embattled Coach Mike DuBose said. “We believed in the team concept when there were lots of times where they could have split and splintered.”

Kemp got his second chance after Florida’s Bennie Alexander jumped offside on a missed conversion attempt following Shaun Alexander’s 25-yard run for a touchdown--his fourth score of the day--on the first play of Alabama’s overtime possession.

Kemp’s second kick was accurate enough to provide the difference only moments after Florida kicker Jeff Chandler’s conversion attempt went wide right.

“I’ve always thought about being in the situation to be relaxed and put the crowd out of my mind, and just hit it,” Kemp said.

When he did, Alabama players ran to the 35-yard line, where the Gator logo is painted on the field, jumping and dancing as the Gators shuffled off in shock.

Reporters and Alabama state troopers surrounded DuBose as he headed to the locker room, victorious and apparently secure again in a job that seemed all but lost two weeks ago.

His admission that he lied about a personal relationship with a school employee was as frustrating and embarrassing to the Tide faithful as the 14-13 career record he brought into Saturday’s game.

But DuBose has been slowly rebuilding the talent pool in a program that suffered NCAA-imposed scholarship reductions in the mid-1990s. And that talent was on full display in the most hostile of venues, a place where Florida hadn’t lost since 1994, when Terry Bowden-coached Auburn beat the Gators, 36-33.

“How we handle this win will be a defining moment for this football team,” DuBose said. “How we move forward will be the tale of how much we’ve learned and how much we’ve grown and where our program is.”

The Gators went on offense first in overtime and scored when Doug Johnson connected with Reche Caldwell on a six-yard touchdown pass. But Chandler missed the extra point wide right, marking the second time in the past two seasons that Florida has missed a chip shot in overtime.

Chandler took over the kicking job last season when Collins Cooper missed a short field-goal attempt in a 20-17 overtime loss to Tennessee.

“I felt bad,” Chandler said. “I let a lot of guys down. I tried to make them forget about what happened last year. But this is worse than last year.”

The Crimson Tide scored 17 points off three Gator turnovers, including a touchdown after the most critical mistake of the game.

After Florida took a 33-26 lead on Johnson’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Jackson late in the fourth quarter, the Gators forced a punt. But Jackson muffed the catch and the Tide’s Marvin Brown won a battle at the bottom of the pile to give Alabama the ball at the Florida 22.

On fourth and two, Alexander burst through for a 13-yard score that forced the overtime.