No. 11 Alabama handed No. 15 LSU its second consecutive double-digit loss Saturday night, effectively knocking the Tigers out of the College Football Playoff race with a 42-13 blowout in Baton Rouge.
Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe ran for four touchdowns against LSU for the second consecutive season and finished with the fourth 100-yard game of his career on the ground (185 yards on 12 carries). Alabama’s defense intercepted LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier twice and contained the Tigers’ run game: After Caden Durham’s 45-yard rush on LSU’s second play from scrimmage, the Tigers totaled only 53 on their next 21 carries.
Below, our takeaways from first-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s sterling debut in the rivalry and LSU coach Brian Kelly’s first loss in a night game at Tiger Stadium:
Milroe owns the Bayou Bengals
Last season against LSU, Milroe produced the best game of his career to date: 374 total yards (including a career-high 155 rushing) and four touchdowns to keep Alabama’s SEC and Playoff hopes in view with a 42-28 win. On Saturday, Milroe dashed through LSU’s defense like no other in his career, finishing with a career-high 185 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He didn’t need to throw the ball much, finishing with only 109 yards on 19 attempts, but he took care of the ball and paced Alabama’s offense all night. And most importantly, the Crimson Tide didn’t turn it over for the second straight game, even with sheets of rain coming down at various points on Saturday night.
His return to form on Saturday was an encouraging sign after a few weeks at less than peak performance for the Alabama offense. When Milroe plays how he did on Saturday — confident, decisive, efficient — Alabama is incredibly hard to defend. The Milroe that showed up on Saturday was closer to the star of September’s dramatic win against Georgia, and if that play continues through November, Alabama will be a tough out in the 12-team Playoff. — Kennington Smith III
SEC race remains jumbled
The simplest immediate consequence of Saturday night’s blowout in Death Valley is that LSU’s SEC championship hopes have taken a major hit with the Tigers’ second SEC loss, while Alabama’s aspirations remain alive.
The more complicated explanation is that Texas, Texas A&M and Tennessee are now the only SEC teams with one league loss. The Aggies and Longhorns meet on the final Saturday of the regular season, so barring an upset before then (Texas has to get past Arkansas and Kentucky first, and Texas A&M must travel to Auburn), the winner of that rivalry renewal will be in the SEC title game. The Volunteers also control their path to Atlanta. Next week’s game at Georgia seems a little less daunting after the Bulldogs lost at Ole Miss.
But it’s also easy to see a scenario where six teams tie for second with two SEC losses: LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee and the loser of Texas/Texas A&M. From there, the tiebreakers get complicated. — Matt Baker
LSU defense’s struggles with QB mobility continue
In late October, the Tigers let Marcel Reed and Texas A&M score on the first five possessions of the second half, the Aggies’ backup QB finishing with 62 yards and three scores on nine carries. Back in September, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers ran for 88 yards and two scores in a game LSU was lucky to escape with a win.
And then, on a slow night for Alabama’s running backs, Milroe put the ground game completely on his shoulders. Milroe, the most talented runner of any quarterback the Tigers had faced this season, eliminated them from the ranks of the SEC teams with one conference loss in another frustrating outing for Blake Baker’s defense. — David Ubben
DeBoer notches another big win
The stakes in this game were well understood for Alabama: win and secure very favorable playoff positioning; lose and go home. With tonight’s win, Alabama’s Playoff chances rise to 79 percent, according to Austin Mock’s Playoff projections.
More than the win itself, it’s how Alabama won the game that will impress the selection committee. Alabama dominated LSU in every facet, the exact performance that Tide fans hoped for coming off a bye week and a disappointing road effort at Tennessee a few weeks ago. The offense started the game with a false start, which added to the pregame anxiety of how it would handle another hostile road atmosphere. Eight plays and 75 yards later, Alabama was in the end zone and never looked back. The offense had just one three-and-out all night, and the defense has found its stride under first-year coordinator Kane Wommack.
But as Alabama fans have already learned this season, they’re not at the finish line yet. On paper, Alabama has a very favorable final stretch: Mercer, at Oklahoma and Auburn to close the season. But this team hasn’t been consistent week to week. The Tide put themselves in the position they wanted, with three winnable games left and a Playoff berth and potentially an SEC title game trip within reach. How DeBoer manages the next three weeks will tell a lot about how Alabama manages success. — Smith
Garrett Nussmeier’s long night
Nussmeier overcame a shaky start to ignite LSU’s come-from-behind win over Ole Miss last month that put the Tigers back on track for Playoff and SEC contention. On Saturday, he struggled early again, but the second-half heroics never came. It was a frustrating night for the first-year starter, who finished 24 of 38 through the air with two interceptions and only enjoyed brief moments of success sandwiched around back-breaking mistakes that doomed the night for the Tigers.
One key sequence came around halftime, starting when Nussmeier was sacked and fumbled deep in LSU territory late in the second quarter to set up an Alabama touchdown. He led the Tigers down the field on the opening drive of the second half but threw an ugly interception to Deontae Lawson in the end zone. In between, he mismanaged the clock and kept LSU from scoring on a two-minute drill that barely crossed midfield and ended with a fruitless swing pass to close the half after the Tigers ran out of timeouts. Alabama led 21-6 at the break, but the gap in both sides’ quarterback play was already clear. — Ubben
(Photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
