Kelly’s gamble pays off as LSU upends Alabama, 32-31
Harold Perkins (#40) was a monster all night for LSU. Photo via @LSUfootball
In a season defined thus far as below the “Alabama Standard,” the Tide slipped off the edge and saw its title hopes essentially ended by the LSU Tigers in Death Valley, falling 32-31 in overtime. After Alabama scored on its initial possession in OT, Tiger quarterback Jayden Daniels, who gave the Bama D fits most of the night, scored on LSU’s first play from the 25. Brian Kelly rolled the dice and hit the jackpot as Daniels found freshman tight end Mason Taylor for the winning 2 point conversion to send the Tiger faithful into delirium, while leaving the Crimson Tide Nation in heartbreak.
It was the second loss in three games for the Tide, who looked like a sure-thing for the College Football Playoff during the preseason. Reality has hit the Alabama faithful as the ultra talented Tide squad has struggled mightily throughout the season. Narrow escapes against Texas and Texas A&M sent warning signs across the bow, and narrow defeats to top 10 Tennessee and LSU by a grand total of 4 points has, for the most part, eliminated Alabama from CFP contention. This is the earliest the Tide has essentially been eliminated (there is still a very slight chance Alabama could make the SEC title game, but that is going to take LSU losing to struggling Arkansas and Texas A&M, plus Bama wins over Ole Miss and Auburn) since 2010, when another incredibly talented Tide squad finished 10-3. Most likely, Alabama enters into foreign territory in having goals such as a 10 win season and making the best bowl they possibly can.
Junior quarterback Bryce Young struggled throughout the evening, going 25 for 51, 328 yards, a touchdown and a costly interception from the 4 yard line on the opening drive. As always, he had his moments, most notably a beautiful scramble and 41 yard touchdown strike to Ja’Corey Brooks that put the Tide ahead 21-17 with 4:44 left to play. Yet, Young was under pressure all night and short-hopped numerous passes, overthrew a few others, and there were many instances where Young and his receivers were not on the same page. Furthermore, Bama’s lack of big play receivers was apparent once again, as the Tide does not have a home run hitter like they have had in the past. By far, Young’s favorite target is tailback Jahmyr Gibbs, as he caught a game-high 8 passes against the Tigers. There were high hopes for Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton, who caught 2 passes on Saturday, but he has had a pedestrian season thus far. Many thought Louisville transfer Tyler Harrell would be that deep threat, but he has struggled with injuries and has played only a few snaps so far this season.
The Bama D started strong and did end up with 6 sacks on the evening, but LSU scored on its final three possessions to claim the win. The killer drive was after the Tide took a 21-17 lead (and despite problems in the redzone all night, for some reason Bama went for two and failed), LSU drove 75 yards in 7 plays and took a 24-21 lead on a Jayden Daniel to Mason Taylor 7 yard touchdown pass with 1:47 to play. The Tide’s penalty problems returned after getting flagged only 3 times against Mississippi State, as the Bama secondary was nailed for three pass interference calls in the fourth quarter alone. For the game, Alabama was penalized 9 times for 92 yards.
Meanwhile, a suspect Tiger defense stepped up, switching coverages successfully while the front seven pushed around the Bama line all night. Even though the Tigers were outgained 465 to 367 yards, Daniels and company made clutch play after clutch play, especially in the second half to topple the Tide in Tiger Stadium for the first time since 2010.
There will be a lot of talk in the days to come about this being the sign that the Tide Dynasty is officially on decline. There will be much talk from many about the need to fire coordinators. In reality, this is a Tide team that struggled to meet the lofty expectations that were put on them in the preseason. In addition, programs such as Ohio State and Georgia have caught up with the Tide. Time will tell if the dynasty is indeed dead, however losing to two top quality, hot teams in two of the most hostile environments in college football is no disgrace. Here’s saying that the dynasty is fine and has just been sidetracked for a year. The opportunity to take down a tough Ole Miss team and get a third straight win over Auburn remains, and it will be interesting to see how this Tide team reacts to the current reality. Will they show the pride and love for the team and program that they have preached all season long, or will they fold the tent and start to look towards the future instead of focusing on finishing the year strong? This still could be a successful season, the roster is rich with young, hungry talent, and Bama currently has the top recruiting class in the country according to 247 Sports. Ultimately, hats off to Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers, as they deserved to win this game. On to Ole Miss!