2001 Independence Bowl The 2001 MainStay Independence Bowl , part of the 2001 – 02 bowl game season , took place on December 27 , 2001 , at Independence Stadium in Shreveport , Louisiana . The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide , representing the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) , and the Iowa State Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference ( Big 12 ) . Alabama won the game , 14 – 13 in what was the first all - time game between the programs . It was also the first bowl game for Dennis Franchione at Alabama and the second bowl game for Dan McCarney at Iowa State . Teams . Alabama . The 2001 Alabama squad finished the regular season with a 6 – 5 record in head coach Dennis Franchione ' s first season leading the Crimson Tide . Through eight games , the Crimson Tide were 3 – 5 with losses to UCLA , South Carolina , Ole Miss , Tennessee and LSU . However , Alabama was able to win their final three games against Mississippi State , Auburn and Southern Miss to finish the regular season bowl eligible with a 6 – 5 record . On December 9 , Alabama accepted a bid to play in the Independence Bowl for the first time in school history . There was some controversy with the selection of Alabama instead over Ole Miss , as the Rebels ( which did not go to a bowl in 2001 ) had beaten Alabama that year and had a better record of 7 – 4 . Presumably , Alabama was selected because it had a larger fan base and Ole Miss had just played in the Independence Bowl in 1998 and 1999 . The appearance marked the 51st all - time bowl appearance for Alabama . Iowa State . Iowa State finished the regular season with a 7 – 4 record with losses against Nebraska , Texas A & M , Kansas State and Colorado . On December 9 , Iowa State accepted a bid to play in the Independence Bowl for the first time in school history . The appearance marked the sixth all - time bowl appearance for the Cyclones . Game summary . Iowa State would put the first points on the board off of a 36 - yard Tony Yelk field goal to lead 3 – 0 in the first quarter . After reaching the 1 - yard line on a 33 - yard by Lane Danielsen to close the quarter , the Cyclones would score the game ' s first touchdown on a 1 - yard run by Joe Woodley to give State a 10 – 0 lead . Alabama would respond later in the quarter with an 8 - yard touchdown run by Andrew Zow to close the gap to 10 – 7 . Yelk would then miss a 25 - yard field goal with 0 : 26 remaining in the quarter to keep the score 10 – 7 at the half . Third quarter scoring would be limited to a single , 41 - yard Yelk field goal to bring the Cyclones lead to 13 – 7 going into the fourth . With 5 : 31 remaining in the contest , Waine Bacon blocked a Yelk punt with the recovery occurring on the Iowa State 29 yard line . Two plays later , Zow hit Terry Jones for a 27 - yard touchdown reception , and the extra point gave the Crimson Tide a 14 – 13 lead . The Cyclones just missed a 47 - yard field goal attempt with 0 : 46 remaining in the fourth , which would have given State the lead and potential victory . Subsequent to the game there was some question about whether or not the field goal was actually good , as it sailed directly over one of the uprights . The victory sent Alabama to a 7 – 5 overall record for the season .