BATON ROUGE, La. – With 11 seconds left in an embarrassing loss that cleared any meaningful hardware off the table, LSU finally crossed the goal line.
Fireworks ignited off the top of the south end zone at a mostly empty Tiger Stadium as the band blared at the bleachers below after Kyren Lacy hauled in a 12-yard pass.
Not long after, as LSU trudged into its tunnel after a half-hearted version of the alma mater in the moments following the 42-13 defeat, stadium security yelled at a fan in a purple “Burreaux” No. 9 jersey that they needed him to “head out” of the stadium.
“I need (LSU coach) Brian Kelly to head out of Baton Rouge!” he yelled back, before a sheriff stepped in to make sure he left.
The frustration was palpable well before that outburst. Jalen Milroe’s 72-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter sent rain-soaked fans streaming out the exits with the Tigers trailing 35-6.
A night that began with a roar and the debut of an imposter Mike The Tiger by order of the governor of Louisiana — the first time a jungle cat has patrolled the sideline since 2016 — ended with the realization that reaching the SEC title game and the College Football Playoff look like a pipe dream.
LSU brought a fake Mike the Tiger into Death Valley and the college football gods’ revenge was swift. pic.twitter.com/bICKXDA66b
— Robert Behrens (@rcb05) November 10, 2024
“What we thought would be an exciting evening ended up being a disappointing evening,” Kelly said.
The last time LSU took the field in Death Valley, the night ended with thousands of fans on the field after a come-from-behind overtime win against Ole Miss that put LSU in the driver’s seat for the SEC title game and well-positioned to reach the College Football Playoff.
Saturday, in resounding fashion, the loss all but removed those possibilities.
“We’re disappointed in the way we performed,” Kelly said. “These guys are not like, ‘Hey we’re out of the playoffs.’ They’re disappointed and I’m disappointed we didn’t live up to the standards of LSU football. That affects us more than the damn playoffs.”
A once-promising season was buried underneath a barrage of poorly timed turnovers and back-breaking sprints by Milroe through the heart of the Tigers defense.
“I thought our game plan was really good on Milroe. Obviously, his speed is really good and you can’t account for that in practice and on film until you’re in the game,” linebacker Greg Penn said, noting that the LSU defense had players who were supposed to account for his legs in the running game but Milroe bested them anyway.
He finished with 185 of Alabama’s 311 rushing yards and four of the Crimson Tide’s six rushing touchdowns. Whatever the plan’s finer points, Milroe spent 60 minutes setting it on fire.
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“We’ve got to put our guys in a better position to succeed,” Kelly said, adding he was pleased with his team’s preparation during the week.
The chief reason they couldn’t find the end zone for the game’s first 59 minutes and 49 seconds: For the second consecutive game (both losses), the Tigers committed a trio of turnovers.
The first was a sack-fumble deep in LSU territory late in the first half that sent the Tigers into the locker room trailing 21-6.
On the opening drive of the second half, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier led the Tigers 71 yards in 14 plays and inside Alabama’s 5-yard line before Deontae Lawson snagged a pass from underneath CJ Daniels’ route in the end zone to deny LSU points and keep Alabama’s lead at 15.
“I’ve seen that interception way too many times in my career,” Kelly said. “We’re back in the ballgame if we score. … That’s the margin, right?”
DEONTAE LAWSON PICKS OFF GARRETT NUSSMEIER IN THE END ZONE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bETbX99ow8
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 10, 2024
Instead, Alabama answered with its own 80-yard march to officially brand the game a rout and keep its hopes of reaching the Playoff alive while extinguishing rival LSU’s in the rain.
LSU is a team with a first-year starter at quarterback throwing to talented but unproven weapons, such as Lacy, who are still learning how to be key options on an SEC offense. Its running game ranks 79th nationally in yards per carry, with plays being called by a first-year coordinator in Joe Sloan. Its new defensive coordinator, Blake Baker, was hired to fix that unit after it ranked 109th in yards per play allowed a season ago, making a team led by Heisman winner Jayden Daniels accomplish nothing of great significance.
A program with three national titles since 2000 and seven appearances in the SEC title game in that same span, despite sharing a division with the most dominant dynasty of the modern era, doesn’t accept results like Saturday. The Tigers now have given up multiple turnovers in five out of nine games. And why Kelly’s program is in this position in Year 3 is the kind of question that spawns frustration like we heard and saw on Saturday.
“You’re living on borrowed time when you keep putting yourself in those tough positions,” Kelly said. “And tonight, the dam broke.”
(Photo of Jalen Milroe leaving Jardin Gilbert behind: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
