Alabama Recap: Tide rolls LSU to remain in the playoff hunt
One of the many great things that Alabama fans grew accustomed to during the Nick Saban era was the Tide’s consistent ability to win games when their backs were against the wall. It looks like Kayen DeBoer took up right where “Nick the Great” left off.
In a must win game where the loser would be essentially eliminated from consideration for the inaugural 12 team college football playoff, 11th ranked Alabama routed 15th ranked LSU 42-13 in Baton Rouge on Saturday night. The Tide overcame one of the hardest places to play in the nation and handed Tiger’s coach Brian Kelly his first loss at night in Tiger Stadium. Both teams were coming off a bye week and many thought the combination of rest, refocus, and College Gameday being on campus would produce a tight game that would go down to the wire. Yet, from the opening kickoff on, the boys in Crimson proved to be too much for the home-standing Tigers as the Bama offense rolled up 420 total yards while their ever-improving defense caused three Tiger turnovers. Alabama has now beaten LSU 12 out of the last 14 years.
The hero of the day was Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe, who dominated on the ground, gaining 185 yards on just 12 carries. He scored 4 rushing touchdowns on the day and led a relentless attack that the Tigers had no answer for. After experiencing a mid-season slump, Milroe is hitting his stride once again. Through the air, he finished the evening 12 of 18 for a pedestrian 109 yards, yet it was his ability to keep the chains moving that made the biggest difference in this contest. The Tide converted an impressive 10 of 13 third down attempts and picked up 23 total first downs. On the defensive side, Kade Wommack’s unit has turned a corner from a mid-season slump of their own. LSU’s celebrated junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was frustrated all evening, hitting 27 of 42 passes for 239 yards which included one touchdown pass with less than a minute to play, and he threw two interceptions. His first was particularly costly, as Bama led 21-6 at half and Nussmeier and company took the second half kickoff and drove down to the Tide 4-yard line. On third down, Tide linebacker Deontae Lawson stepped in front of a Nussmeier pass in the endzone that most likely would have been a touchdown, killing the drive. Bama would then march 80 yards and after Milroe scored from 19 yards out to stretch the lead to 28-6, the Tide would cruise to its 7th win of the season.
Just two weeks ago, LSU stood at the top of the SEC standings and seemed poised to not only make a run at the conference championship, but also looked to secure a spot in the college football playoff. Conversely, the Crimson Tide was coming off a tough loss at Tennessee where they did not handle the environment well. Yet on Saturday night, all looked good from the opening kick, as Milroe would direct an 8 play, 80-yard drive that ended with Jalen’s first touchdown on the ground, a nifty 39-yard sprint up the middle untouched to put Bama on top 7-0. A 50-yard kickoff return by Zavion Thomas set up the Tigers at midfield, and after a 45-yard run by Caden Durham set up LSU at the Bama 5, the home team was ready to tie the score. Yet, the Tide defense stepped up and forced a Damion Ramos 23-yard field goal to make the score 7-3. The Tide took the ensuing kickoff and marched 75 yards in 15 plays that was capped off by Justice Haynes’ 1 yard touchdown run that made the score 14-3 with 2:03 left in the opening quarter. As the second quarter began, the usually rowdy LSU crowd was noticeably quiet. After an exchange of punts, Nussmeier drove the Tigers to the Tide 26 where the drive stalled. Ramos hit his second field goal of the night from 46 yards out to pull LSU within 8 at 14-6. That would be the last points for LSU until the final drive of the night. On Bama’s next drive, the LSU D stopped Jam Miller at the Tiger 40 on 4th and 1, yet Nussmeier was sacked on the next play by Jihaad Campbell and fumbled, giving Alabama the ball right back. 55 seconds later, Milroe would score his second touchdown of the night on the ground, this time from 10 yards out to increase the lead to 21-6 at the half.
LSU showed signs of life by taking the second half kickoff and marched to the Bama 5 before a Nussmeier sure touchdown pass was intercepted by Lawson to kill a key scoring opportunity. Bama took the wind out of Tiger Stadium by marching 80 yards in 8 plays as Milroe scored his third touchdown of the game from 10 yards out to stretch the lead to 28-6 with 5:05 left in the third quarter. After another LSU punt, Milroe delivered the dagger on the first play of the 4th quarter as he sprinted a career high 72 yards for 6, and the rout was on. ABC cameras caught a stream of LSU fans leaving the stadium and the Tide and Tigers would conclude the game in a mostly empty stadium, besides, of course, the small but jubilant Tide contingency in the south endzone. Alabama gave the starters the rest of the night off, and the backups were able to punch the ball over the goal line for one last score, an 8-yard run by Richard Young. LSU would finally taste paydirt as their last drive, against the Bama second string defense, resulted in a Nussmeier to Kyren Lacy 12 yard touchdown strike to end the scoring at 42-13.
Bama’s stunning victory has restored confidence in the new Bama coaching staff while, at the same time, raised more questions from the Tiger faithful who wonder if Kelly is truly the man to get LSU over the hump. Even with an extra week to prepare for the talented Milroe, the Tiger defense had no answer for the fleet footed junior. On the other side of the ball, Campbell had a career day and the Tide defense flexed its muscles to the degree that if Bama can continue to put together complete games like the one on Saturday, they will be very hard out for any team. The road to the college football playoff for the Tide is simple…win out and there is a good chance that they are in. Alabama will be heavily favored in the remaining games, as Mercer visits Tuscaloosa on Saturday followed by a trip to struggling Oklahoma. The regular season will end with the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny against an Auburn squad that has underperformed. However, as the Tide learned in early October against Vanderbilt, no opponent can be taken lightly, however the next month is setting up nicely for a possible Tide run in the playoffs.
