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Lee the difference as Florida State tops Alabama

Sep 30, 2007 - 4:14 AM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Xavier Lee made the plays that Drew Weatherford couldn't and Bobby Bowden's first game against Alabama was a victorious one as a result.

Lee replaced an ineffective Weatherford and directed three second-half scoring drives to lead the Seminoles to a 21-14 victory over the 22nd-ranked Crimson Tide.

The last time Alabama and Florida State faced off, Bear Bryant was the Crimson Tide's coach and Bobby Bowden was not the Seminoles'. The all-time leader in wins among Division-I coaches with 369, Saturday's triumph was Bowden's first against Alabama.

The teams combined for eight first downs, nine penalties and 12 punts in a scoreless first half before Lee got going.

The Seminoles (3-1) took the opening kickoff in the second half and marched 67 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Lee, who came in late in the second quarter, threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to De'Cody Fagg.

"He gave us some mobility at quarterback and offensively he won the game," Bowden said of Lee. "He did what we've wanted him to do. Xavier has always been a young man with great potential and tonight he began to use that potential."

Antone Smith ran for a five-yard TD to give the Seminoles a 14-0 lead with just over nine minutes to play. Smith's scoring burst around the left end came on the first play after a fumble by Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson was recovered by the Seminoles at the Crimson Tide 5.

Wilson bounced back from his miscue and pulled Alabama within 14-7 on its next possession when he connected with D.J. Hall for an eight-yard TD pass.

Lee and Fagg hooked up again to take back the momentum, connecting on a 70-yard scoring strike to make it 21-7 with 4:46 remaining. Lee completed 12-of-19 passes for 224 yards and two TDs and was intercepted once.

Alabama (3-2), which lost two straight after a 3-0 start, made things interesting in the closing minutes.

Wilson threw a 17-yard TD pass to Keith Brown with 59 seconds to go, and it appeared that the Crimson Tide recovered an onside kick, but they were flagged for illegal touching and the Seminoles ran out the clock.

Weatherford was 7-for 11 for only 42 yards before being replaced by Lee.

Wilson completed 28-of-53 attempts for 240 yards and was sacked four times.

"This was a very disappointing game. I was not pleased with how we played out there today," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "I want to give Florida State a lot of credit. They played physical, they out-toughed us. This was the first game that I felt the other team played more physical than we were, in terms of how to control the line of scrimmage and tackling."

The Seminoles improved to 8-1 under Bowden in Jacksonville, including a 27-22 triumph over favored Virginia Tech in the first ACC title game two seasons ago.

"I think when it comes right down to it, we didn't execute as well as we need to, to have success," Saban said. "We want to play with intensity, toughness, everybody to be responsible for how we execute. I didn't feel like we got that done in the game tonight.

"We didn't want to come here and have any regrets about how we played, but we have some. I think they are a good football team. I think they're an outstanding defensive football team. I didn't think we played with the kind of poise you need to execute against a team of their caliber."