LSU coach Bernie Moore once said, kiddingly, "When Tittle leaves LSU, I'll leave." QB Y. A. Tittle left for the NFL and a Pro Football Hall of Fame career when his four years of eligibility ended after the 1947 season, but Moore stayed on. However, as he was overseeing spring training in preparation for the 1948 season, the presidents of the Southeastern Conference schools offer­ed him the position of commissioner. He immediately resigned as LSU coach, say­ing, "I am go­ing to find it very difficult to break away from LSU and all the close ties and friendships which I have made. LSU has been good to me, and my associations there have been very pleasant." Bernie took a pay cut of $500 to move to the new position.

Gaynell "Gus" Tinsley was an All-American end at LSU from 1934-36, with Moore as head coach in '35 and '36. Gus was equally proficient on offense and defense. Moore once said, "Tinsley could have made All-American at any position. He was so tough, he made blockers quit. He's the greatest lineman I ever saw."

After playing for the Chicago Cardinals in 1937-38 and 1940, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then coached high school football in his home state. He joined Moore's staff as an assistant in 1947.

Tinsley, 6'3" 215 pounder, often got down with the linemen on the practice field and showed them how to block or rush. Moore said, "I had to keep an eye on him to make sure he would­n't put any of the players out of action."

Tinsley agreed to a year-to-year contract at a starting salary of $12,500 and requested that two former Tigers who had been in the running for the head coach job, Jesse Featheree and Red Swanson, remain as his assistants.

The day after Tinsley was announced as his replacement, Moore warned LSU fans about the new coach's first season. "It would not be fair to Gus to expect miracles. The schdeule he faces is as tough as any in the country."

Tinsley's first LSU team had lost five games in a row as they prepared to host Al­abama. Fortunately, the 4-3 -1 Tide of second-year coach Harold Drew were not up to the standards of the great teams of Wallace Wade and Frank Thomas from 1923 to 1946.

In 1946, an inspired LSU team beat Alabama for the first time since 1907. But the Tide walloped the Tigers the next year, 41-12.

LSU's first 1948 afternoon home game of the season was played in beautiful fall weather with tem­perature in the 60s. Still, only 25,000 showed up to watch the 3-6 Tigers take on 13-point-favorite Alabama.

Baton Rouge Morning Advocate reporter Dan Hardesty started his article on the game this way: "Baton Rouge sports fans, well known for their habit of quitting a loser, stayed away from the LSU stadium in large numbers yesterday and as a result missed one of the finest perform­ances by an LSU team in a long time."

Three Bama turnovers allowed LSU to dominate the first quarter.

First, Red Noonan fumbled on the third play of the game, and E Abner Wimberly recov­ered for LSU on the Tide 38. A holding penalty set the Tigers back 15y and forced "Ripper" Collins to shank a punt only 6y to the 34.

But Bama gained only a yard before punting to the LSU 27, where Dale Gray returned it 11y.

"Wild Bill" Schroll ploughed through left tackles for 5y before FB Zollie Toth hit the same spot for three. Then QB Charley Pevey reared back and threw a perfect pass to E Mel Lyle, who caught the ball over his shoulder at the Tide 27 and raced the rest of the way for a touch­down. Carroll Griffith kicked the extra point. LSU 7 Alabama 0 (9:20 left in first quarter)

The Tigers soon had the ball back on the Tide 47 after Bama went three-and-out. Pevey faked a handoff, stepped up, and pass to HB Billy Baggett, who took the ball a step inside the sideline on the Tide 20 and made a great broken field dash the rest of the way, eluding three Bama tacklers, to the end zone. Griffith's PAT try was blocked. LSU 13 Alabama 0 (6:36)

Bama finally got moving as QB Eddie Salem connected with Ed White for 16y to the LSU 46. Two plays later, Salem faked a pass and ran around left end for a first down on the 32. But on second down, Lyle broke through and nailed Salem for a 15y loss. Bama went for it, but Baggett intercepted his fourth down heave on the four.

In the last seconds of the quarter, Griffith picked off Salem's pass on the LSU 47 and re­turned it 4y.

Neither side scored in the second period, but Bama came closest. The threat began when Clem Welsh returned an LSU punt 15y to the LSU 36. On third down, Salem skirted right end to the 16. But after an incompletion, White slipped and fell on an end-around for a 3y loss. Then Joe Bradley and several teammates smothered Salem for a 10y loss. On fourth down, Bill Cadenhead took a statue of liberty handoff from Salem and lost more ground. So LSU took over on its 34.

Neither side came close to scoring the rest of the first half.

Needing to score first in the second half to cut the deficit in half, the Tide got a break when Schroll fumbled, and Pat O'Sullivan recovered for Bama on the LSU 44. Ralph Cochran, replacing Salem after halftime, faded to pass but, finding no one open, ran for a first down on the LSU 31. Three plays put Bama 1' from a first down. Tom Calvin hit the line, but Joe "Red" Baird and five other Bengals stopped him short of the first down marker to end the threat.

The Tigers used up with the rest of the quarter with a relentless drive to with­in inches of the Tide goal line. The key plays were third-down conversions on Griffith's 10y left end sweep fto the LSU 37, Collins' third-down 9y off-tackle plunge to move the chains to the Bama 47 fol­lowed by his 24y run to the 23. Less than a minute later, Pevey, having his best passing and ball handling game of the year, found Al Heroman for 9y to the five. Collins was tackled within one step of the goal line to make it first down inside the one. But Bama rose up and stopped Collins cold for a 1y loss, then did the same to Heroman. Schroll gained back the lost yardage to put the pigskin inside the one as the scoreless quarter ended.

With Bama stacked in the middle, Pevey lateraled to Schroll who zipped around right end for the touchdown. Griffith's PAT made it 20-0 LSU. Who would have believed it?

In desperation, coach Drew tried a third quarterback, Gordon Pettus. He completed two passes to Calvin and one to Al Lary to move 2y past midfield. But a personal foul penalty took the steam out of the advance and forced a punt.

The next time the Tide got the ball, fleet DB Kenny Konz flagged down a Pettus aerial on the Bama 48 and sped to the 18. On second down, Pevey connected with Konz who was knocked out of bound a foot shy of a touchdown but good for a first down. Collins carried into the end zone, but the touchdown was nullified by an offside penalty. So Collins took a pitchout around the left side. Aided by Konz's excellent block, he scampered into the end zone. Griffith missed the PAT try. LSU 26 Alabama 0 with nine minutes to play.

Reporters began to wonder, Has LSU ever held a 26-0 lead over an Alabama team?

The only question now was whether the Tide would avoid a shutout. The answer was "yes" as they drove 68y to pay dirt against LSU's reserves. Most of the yardage was gained on the first play, a pass from Pettus to Bob Hood who broke away but was tackled from behind by Ebert Van Buren on the LSU 19. On third-and-14, Clarence "Butch" Avinger took a screen pass for 8y. Then Salem threw to Avinger again, and he got past Dale Gray, Van Buren, and Joe Reid to score. The PAT missed. LSU 26 Alabama 6

Tinsley played almost everyone on his bench the rest of the way.

FINAL SCORE: LSU 26 ALABAMA 6