Rob Carr / AP

LSU's Glenn Dorsey, No. 72, celebrates with fans after the Tigers beat Alabama, 41-34, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Then the touted LSU defense came up with not just a stop, but a turnover.

Wilson completed only 14 of 40 passes for Alabama, though it seemed every one was a game-changer. He threw three touchdowns, hooking up with DJ Hall on a 67-yarder and hitting Keith Brown for scores of 29 and 14 yards.

Alabama, with two linemen and its top running back suspended over textbook issues, couldn’t muster a running game. The Tide finished with just 20 yards on the ground and were outgained 475-254 overall.

After squandering its two-touchdown lead and falling behind, LSU finally responded with Flynn’s 61-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Byrd in the final minute of the third quarter.

That was just the warmup for another down-to-the-wire finish.

“We should have won, and I’m really angry right now,” Alabama linebacker Darren Mustin said. “I feel like we had that game won, but we just let them take it away from us.”

Saban was even more scratching in his critique.

“We don’t play with enough discipline,” he said. “It drives me nuts. My hands are bruised from smacking them together when we made mistakes, when we did the wrong things.”

The Tigers — well, their fans at least — felt Saban did them wrong by returning to the SEC West, which meant he gets to face his former team every year. They couldn’t wait for their first shot at the $4 Million Man, the annual salary Alabama doled out to lure Saban back to college.

Miles and his players said they never bought into the get-back-at-Saban mentality. They’ve got more important things on their agenda.

“That had nothing to do with who coaches the teams,” Miles said. “This was about two football teams and position in the West.” Not to mention the national race.

After the clock struck zero, ending the four-hour-plus marathon, it seemed as though all was forgiven. Saban lingered on the field to shake hands with his former players.

“I love our players here more. I’m going to work with them every day to try to help them be successful,” Saban said. “But I can’t just throw away the feelings I have for those players, the ones I have a relationship with. That just doesn’t go away.”

Maybe now, though, it can be put to rest.

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