Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, left, celebrates with defensive lineman Terrence Cody after Cody blocked the first of two Tennessee field-goal attempts. Alabama held off Tennessee, 12-10, on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Tuscaloosa, Ala. ? Mount Cody kept No. 1 Alabama perfect with a pair of super-sized plays.

Terrence Cody, the Crimson Tide’s 350-pound nose guard, blocked a 44-yard field-goal attempt on the final play — his second block of the fourth quarter — and ‘Bama escaped with a 12-10 victory over rival Tennessee on Saturday.

He muscled the Tide to another win, with pure brute force.

“I didn’t really get off the ground,” Cody said. “I just reached my arm up. That’s how I got it. I knocked (the blocker) back. He was on his back.”

Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) was about to have its bid for perfection knocked down, too.

Then Cody broke through the line on the last play and practically ran into Daniel Lincoln’s low kick.

Leigh Tiffin booted four field goals — including a 50-yarder and a 49-yarder — to provide all Alabama’s points and the Tide survived Mark Ingram’s first college fumble and some problems for the nation’s top defense.

“You talk about how fragile a season is,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “You’re controlling a game, even though you may say it’s winning ugly. We’re still ahead, 12-3, and totally controlling the game with 3 minutes, 29 seconds and the ball. That’s how fragile a season can be. You make one mistake and you have to go overcome it. I hope that there’s a lot of lessons our team can learn from this.”