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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. The top-ranked Crimson Tide flashed its overwhelming punching power to knockout No. 10 LSU in Saturday nights 38-17 victory Saturday, scoring the final 21 points in punishing fashion. AJ McCarron threw three touchdown passes, T.J. Yeldon ran for 133 yards and two scores and the Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) turned to smash-you-in-the-mouth football to take control of a game that was tied early in the third quarter. Yeldon carried 18 times in the second half, 25 overall. And down went LSU (7-3, 3-3). "I think we probably played our best half of football," Tide coach Nick Saban said. "We didnt play great in the first half, but man I tell you what, a lot of character out there in the second half." Yeldon and McCarron had hooked up for the game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute of last seasons meeting with the Tigers. This one had no such dramatic finish. Two-time defending national champion Alabama brushed aside its first challenge since Game 2 against Texas A&M. It was a dominant performance two days after one contender, No. 2 Oregon, fell to another, No. 6 Stanford. McCarron was a workmanlike 14-of-20 passing for 179 yards, letting Yeldon, Kenyan Drake and their blockers assert control. He did hit speedy freshman tight end O.J. Howard for a 52-yard touchdown and overtook John Parker Wilson to become Alabamas top career passer. "All he does is win and does what his team needs for him to do," Saban said of his senior quarterback. "I think the guy is the best quarterback in the country." He didnt need to put up big numbers to improve his career mark to 34-2. LSUs Zach Mettenberger completed 16 of 23 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown but was also sacked four times. It was the most points Alabama has scored against LSU since a 41-12 victory in 1947. LSU had won five of the last six meetings in Tuscaloosa, but lost fumbles on its first two possessions, including one on the goal line. The Tigers, who came in averaging 40.2 points, couldnt regain the lost momentum and managed just 52 yards in the second half and minus-9 in the final quarter. "You cant turn the ball over," LSU coach Les Miles said. "In the first half its a 7-to-nothing game and the fullback (J.C. Copeland) runs the ball off left tackle. Then we turn the ball over on the other side of the field. That cost us a terrible start. "We overcame it but it took time." Alabama has been so dominant lately, some students began chanting "We Want Bama" in the fourth quarter, mimicking the fans of potential challengers to the reigning champs. This one, at least, was a contest until Alabama scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Yeldon powered the Tide to a two-touchdown lead with a workhorse drive in the fourth quarter. He ran six times for 34 yards and had a 13-yard catch before powering it in with 10:31 left to give Alabama a 31-17 lead. "They came in here thinking that they were going to be more physical than us," Tide defensive lineman Jeoffrey Pagan said. "I feel like we changed that." LSU swiftly threatened to get back in the game when Odell Beckham Jr. raced 82 yards on the kickoff return. Alabama held firm and Mettenbergers fourth-and-13 pass to a well-covered Jarvis Landry was off target. And the Tide fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium could finally breathe. Alabamas Drake ran for 65 yards on 10 carries. The Tide outgained LSU 372-282, including a 193-43 advantage on the ground in a game both sides typically call one of the most physical of each season. LSUs playmaking receivers Beckham and Landry turned in some big ones but it wasnt nearly enough. Landry had five catches for 90 yards and Beckham gained 42 yards on three catches. Alabama limited Jeremy Hill, who came in as the SECs No. 2 rusher, to 13 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown. "You could look at the score and think one thing," Mettenberger said. "But if you watched the game you would know that if we didnt turn the ball over and made some smarter decisions in the third and fourth quarters, it would be a ball game." LSU tied the game at 17 with Colby Delahoussayes 41-yard field goal to cap the opening drive of the second half. Then Alabama turned to a fake punt in its own territory. Alabamas Jarrick Williams took a handoff from linebacker C.J. Mosley and ran for a first down on fourth and 2 in Tide territory after calling time out. The buck-the-odds gamble that is more Les Miles calling card than Sabans paid off. Yeldon capped a 14-play drive consuming seven minutes, 50 seconds with a 4-yard touchdown for a 24-17 lead. "We said if they put their defence back in there, we were going to run it," Saban said. "I felt like we didnt want to give them the ball back. We were playing great on defence. I think it was a big play in the game and for our offence to go down and finish that drive, I think it really changed the momentum." .ca NHL Power Rankings, finally overtaking the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, who rank second and third this week. . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black- ... ersey/.com) - The Vancouver Canucks hope an upcoming stretch of home games will be enough to get the club into the postseason. . The closer wasnt available. The road trip, a disaster to that point. . Schaub will start for an injured Case Keenum and try to help the Texans end a 12-game skid. Schaubs last action in Houston came when he took over late in a game against Oakland on Nov. 17 as Keenum was struggling.TORONTO -- Toronto FC will be without star striker Jermain Defoe and defensive lynchpin Steven Caldwell for Saturdays game against the Columbus Crew. Defoe, who has scored all three of Torontos goals this season, has been sidelined by a slight hamstring strain while Caldwell must serve a suspension. And the injury list could be longer with midfielder Jonathan Osorio facing a second week out with his own hamstring issue. Manager Ryan Nelsen says Defoe, who had a scan Tuesday after leaving Saturdays game in Salt Lake City early, will be out "for the short-term." "Not a major thing but definitely unavailable this weekend," he said. The 31-year-old England striker was substituted in the 61st minute Saturday favouring the back of his left thigh as he went to the dressing room. Caldwell was suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount Wednesday for what MLS called "serious foul play that endangers the safety of an opponent." The hard-nosed Scottish centre back -- TFCs captain -- was yellow-carded for a studs-up tackle on midfielder Ned Grabavoy in the 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Toronto had hoped to avoid a ban, arguing that the referee had seen the incident and decided on the appropriate punishment. But the leagues disciplinary committee disagreed. While Caldwell insisted he was just trying to win the ball, it was an ugly challenge that could have merited a straight red card, which carries with it a minimum one-game suspension. Caldwell is the second Toronto FC player to receive supplemental discipline. Brazilian midfielder Jackson missed the Salt Lake game after getting a one-game ban for an elbow thrown away from the ball in a 1-0 win over D.C. United. The latest suspension is especially worrying because Doneil Henry, Caldwells partner in central defence, has not trained this week because of a jarred knee suffered in Salt Lake City. "There could be a few guys unavailable," said Nelsen, who has repeatedly noted that the teams that succeed in MLS are the ones with the depth to cover such absences. The Toronto manager, who brought in as many as eight new starters in the off-season, is on the lookout for such reserve talent. "They normally play under the radar, they dont get any publicity or anything like that. Theyre the most valuable players on MLS teams and Toronto hasnt had those type of guys. Were trying to build them, were trying to get them, were trying to bring them (in), were trying to develop them ourselves. "For me, (the time) well get very, very, very good is when we can have a number of those guys who throw out seven of 10 (performances) every week." Goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who also took a knock to the knee on the weekend, was back in training Wednesday. And Toronto has Jackson back from suspension. Nelsen declined to say who will partner Brazilian striker Gilberto on Saturday against the unbeaten Crew (3-0-0).dddddddddddd Nelsen played Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario up front with Defoe in the opening game of the season in Seattle when Gilberto was not ready. He pointed to De Rosario, Jackson, Andrew Wiedeman and newly signed Issey Nakajima-Farran as possible options. There was no "woe is me" from Nelsen. "Jermains come in and done really well obviously. But he got a slight strain and we move on. Thats life." On the backline, Nelsen has Gale Agbossoumonde and rookie Nick Hagglund at his disposal. American Justin Morrow could also move in from the left flank. Reserve fullback Ashtone Morgan is also dealing with a sore hip. Nelsen has spoken at length the last two days on the leagues supplemental discipline, arguing that it can undermine referees when the league rules on incidents that the on-field officials have already ruled on. "I dont know why the league needs to get involved, to tell you the truth," he said Wednesday. Still he seemed to want to have his cake and eat it too when, awaiting word last week on the Jackson suspension, he argued that Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio deserved a ban for his foul on A.J. DeLaGarza of the Los Angeles Galaxy the previous week. "That could have broken his leg," Nelsen said at the time of the Saborio challenge. "So if Jackson gets suspended, then youd like to hope that a guy whos nearly broken a guys leg is probably going to get suspended as well. "But I dont know, you never know. I dont make those rules." Nelsen was no doubt aware that RSL was already facing a glut of injuries at forward. His argument is that such supplemental discipline sets a precedent, effectively prompting all clubs to seek justice. "So do we slow down all elbows that were hit on Jackson before he did one or the elbow on Steven before that tackle?" he asked. "Its a slippery slope isnt it when you start overturning referees and taking away the human element of it, then every single team will have cases every single week." Unlike the NHL, MLS players are still paid while suspended. Also Wednesday, the leagues disciplinary committee fined Colorado Rapids defender Drew Moor an undisclosed amount for swinging his arm at the back of Sporting Kansas City forward Claudio Bielers head. According to the league, the disciplinary committees mission statement is "to preserve the integrity and reputation of the game and Major League Soccer, and to assist in ensuring player safety." The committee can take further action when the referee has seen or ruled on an incident on the field, if there is unanimous opinion that the play deserved a red card or was of "an egregious or reckless nature, such that the committee must act to protect player safety or the integrity of the game." ' ' '