The popular Jones made the biggest play of what has been a relatively quiet sophomore season, breaking free for a 73-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, and third-ranked Alabama locked down No. 9 LSU in a 24-15 victory yesterday.

Leigh Tiffin booted a 40-yard field goal with 3:04 left to seal it and the Tide (9-0, 6-0) clinched the SEC West to earn a rematch with No. 1 Florida for the league championship.

The hard-hitting affair left the Tigers (7-2, 4-2) without injured quarterback Jordan Jefferson and running back Charles Scott for most of the second half.

“It was a tough, physical game,’’ said Alabama coach Nick Saban, who beat his former team for the second straight year. “Man, those games are fun to be a part of.’’

The win touched off another big celebration for Alabama, which survived a 12-10 victory over Tennessee two weeks ago with Terrence Cody’s two blocked field goal attempts in the fourth quarter. Tiffin came up big in that one, too, with four field goals.

Jefferson had an ankle injury and Scott hurt his right shoulder in the third. LSU coach Les Miles, who said Scott’s injury was probably the more serious, didn’t shed much light on their status.

LSU would have taken control of the division with a win. The Tigers, whose only other loss came to the Gators, took a 15-10 lead into the fourth quarter but managed only 9 yards in the final period. They had won four straight games at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Once again, though, LSU is left taking a backseat to its former coach.

Saban & Co. moved a step closer to their second straight perfect regular season. Alabama is 9-0 for a second consecutive season, which hasn’t happened since 1973-74 under Bear Bryant.

The Tide outgained LSU, 452-253. Greg McElroy completed 19 of 34 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as the Tide aired it out 25 times in the first half against a defense that was putting extra defenders near the line.

The second half was more typical ’Bama. Mark Ingram gained 106 of his 144 yards after the half to continue to mount a strong campaign for Heisman Trophy consideration.

Jones had his best game of the season with four catches for 102 yards, including his second touchdown.

“We practiced that all week,’’ he said. “A situation like that, I feel like I should just step up and make the play. I did what I had to do.’’

And the Tide defense - as it has all season - came through in the end.

Needing two scores, backup quarterback Jarrett Lee couldn’t get LSU to midfield in the final minutes.

Alabama hadn’t left the Tigers much time anyway, milking more than six minutes off the clock in setting up Tiffin’s final kick, made possible when a running into the kicker call led Saban to go for it on fourth and 1 near midfield.

“There’s not one part of the team that didn’t play well,’’ Saban said. “The offense played extremely well. Greg played well. The receivers played well. We ran the ball. The offensive line did a fantastic job.’’