Alabama overwhelms LSU, improves to 7-2 behind stout defensive effort
By Mark Kern
Published:
Alabama entered the game against LSU as the No. 5-ranked team in the first College Football Playoff rankings, leading many to declar the Crimson Tide overrated entering Week 10. The Crimson Tide responded on Saturday night, dominating the fourth quarter en route to a 31-13 victory over Lane Kiffin‘s Tigers.
It was a low-scoring affair in the first half, as Alabama took a 10-3 lead into the locker room. The Tigers got off to a quick start in the second half and took a 13-10 lead with 2:44 remaining as Dilin Jones scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.
However, Keelon Russell responded with a huge drive of his own. First, the Alabama QB hit Rico Scott on a 58-yard pass. Then he ended the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ford. Russell was phenomenal in the second half, throwing three touchdowns in just over nine minutes of game time between the third and fourth quarters.
As good as the offense was, the Alabama defense, led by DC Kane Wommack, did an outstanding job against the Tigers. Sam Leavitt did finish with 380 yards passing, but the Crimson Tide were able to stop the Tigers in the red zone and on fourth down multiple times. The Crimson Tide also forced 2 LSU turnovers in a stellar bend-don’t-break outing.
Alabama heard all of the talk heading into this game about being overrated, and for the Crimson Tide to respond with a performance like that is extremely impressive.
The Crimson Tide are in great shape moving forward, as their last three regular-season games are against Vanderbilt, Chattanooga, and Auburn. While upsets have been happening all season long, they have set themselves up in a great spot to make the College Football Playoff.
