Sunday Hangover: LSU

With Brian Kelly getting canned and the Tigers working under a longtime assistant coach who emphasized the importance of the players representing the whole state of Louisiana, yesterday was LSU's Super Bowl when they traveled to Bryant-Denny. 

Alabama's defense limited them to three field goals. 

Alabama scored 20 hard-earned points and had yet another quick drive with less than two minutes left in the first half. In fact that touchdown-earning drive took less than a minute. 

LSU's defense threw a lot of Ty Simpson. He was shaky at times early, but he had a good game. 

They stacked the box on a consistent basis, so the Tide had to pass the ball. 

I'm still concerned about Alabama's rushing game, especially with a very tough Oklahoma defense coming next on Saturday. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

The much ballyhooed Death Valley was not all that deadly. 

Jalen Milroe was a one-man wrecking crew against LSU last night. He had four running touchdowns and 185 net rushing yards on 12 rushing attempts. 

Miller was the leading receiver, which is kind of a surprise. But Alabama had a lot of designed plays for the running back. 

On defense the Tide gave up way too many yards on first down for my liking. However, they didn't give up a touchdown until garbage time in the fourth quarter. 

Lawson and Campbell had excellent games. Lawson had that crucial interception, and Campbell had the strip-sack after Alabama failed to convert on a fourth and short. 

If the defense can play like they did last night, the Tide might have some chances if they make the playoffs. 

There are three games left with a home game versus Mercer, a trip to Norman to play Oklahoma, and the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa. 

Don't screw this up, Alabama. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

The second half didn't start out well for Alabama. LSU got the kickoff, marched down the field, and scored a touchdown. After that negative though, they didn't score again. 

The Tide dropped 42 points on the Tigers. 

Alabama featured a run-centric offense for the most part with a lot of key runs from Milroe, who had four touchdowns and netted 155 yards of rushing stats. 

I think we'll see more of this kind of game plan with Milroe doing more with his legs. The great development is that Milroe seems comfortable passing too. Usually he's excellent with the long passes. 

But last night he didn't hit any of the long, deep pass plays but instead did well on the short and intermediate routes, which is a significant change of form. 

During the broadcast, the commentators were intimating that Turner could have been called for targeting Daniels on the play that knocked him out. I don't think so. To me, it was a clean, hard hit. He didn't use his helmet as a weapon. He just hit him hard. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

Another loss in which the home fans storm the field. At least the LSU fans had enough sense and self respect not to destroy the goal posts. 

The first Alabama drive started out well enough. They marched right down the field and were likely to punch in a touchdown on that first drive, but Young tried to improvise too much and made a bad decision.

After that drive and up until the fourth quarter, the offense just seemed off. And it seemed off because Young was not his usual self. Also, I don't understand some of the play calls for runs throughout most of the game. 

We have Gibbs, who is tremendously talented, and we didn't use him enough. 

The largest problem that has not been solved this season is that we don't have consistent vertical threats in the passing game. 

Fans can gripe about officiating, and I rarely do, but that touchdown run by the LSU quarterback should have been called back. If you watch the play, the tight end Taylor clearly blocked our defender in the back. He got no part of the front side of the Alabama player. 

Regardless, the Tide should have stopped that two-point conversion. 

The chances of Alabama winning the West is very poor. We would need some serious help from either Arkansas or Texas A&M. 

From what I've seen from those teams, I'm not confident we'll get help.

Also, we would need to beat a crafty Ole Miss team next week. 

Sunday Hangover: "LSU"

I know our offensive line has not played up to the performance of last year's line, but last night was really bad. 

Once the starting center got hurt, they moved Owens to center and had George play right tackle. The line play got even worse. That's the worst running game performance I've seen as a Tide fan. 

No bueno.

Young, Williams, and Metchie had solid performances, so I'm not worried about facing Georgia right now. 

Hell, I'm worried about Arkansas. Thankfully, the next game will come against New Mexico State. Then it's Arkansas at home and Auburn down the road. 

Will Anderson was all over the field last night and is the emotional heartbeat of this squad: 12 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. 

Time to get the running game better and get better at pass blocking. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

Beatdown in Baton Rouge

Let's just immerse ourselves in numbers:

• Alabama 55 - LSU 17
• 32 first downs for Alabama
• 265 net rushing yards
• 385 passing yards
• 650 yards of total offense
• 1 punt
• Mac Jones: 20 completions of 28 passes
• Harris: 21 rushes for 145 yards and 3 TDs
• Robinson: 11 rushes for 64 yards 
• Smith: 8 receptions for 231 yards and 3 TDs
• 4 sacks
• 7 tackles for loss

LSU had two big plays, which I'm sure Coach Saban and the rest of the coaching staff will address during film study. 

However, LSU couldn't do much of anything against the Crimson Tide offense. 

Next up is an vastly improved Arkansas team and then the SEC Championship versus Florida. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

That was a terrible first quarter for the Crimson Tide. They tried to come back from shooting themselves in the feet, but they couldn't pull out the win. 

I'm still pissed at the allegedly completed pass that the LSU TE had. It was clearly illegal touching, but the announcers explained that they supposedly can't review illegal touching. If that's true, that's patent nonsense. 

It was a disappointing afternoon and evening. 

Alabama needed to run the ball more.

I guess there's an outside shot of the Tide getting the playoffs, but I think Alabama won't be in them for the first time since they started. 

I hope to be proven wrong. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

I was worried about this game. LSU has a strong defense, and they had been playing well lately. 

While packing for our trip to Iowa, I intended to pack my usual game day attire, but I forgot to pack my away-game t-shirt. 

I forgot it. 

Based on how the Tide played, I guess I should not worry about wearing my typical game day attire? 

Nah, I'm way too OCD to do that. 

Regardless, the Crimson Tide showed up big time last night. They balled out. 

Quinnen Williams was, once again, an absolute beast last night. The commentators related how one of Alabama's linemen described trying to block that young man. I think it was described as trying to "block a bar of soap." He led the team in tackles with a total of 10 (7 solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. 

What a player. 

The offense looked good. The line blocked well, and overall the offense gained 281 net yards rushing and 295 yards passing. That's the kind of balance I like to see. 

Next up is a game versus State in Tuscaloosa. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

The Crimson Tide had a good win last night against a difficult opponent, the LSU Tigers. 

It appears to have come at a horrible cost, however. 

From the looks of it, Shaun Dion Hamilton, one of Alabama's best linebackers, is probably out for the season because of knee injury. That stinks. 

The LSU defense played tough against the run last night, and they also had a pretty solid pass rush. 

Despite one big play by LSU, Alabama's defense played satisfactory: 6 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, and 4 QB hurries. I say satisfactory because they didn't dominate like they usually do. 

The offense's play last night has me concerned. LSU stacked the box, and the running backs didn't bust any long runs that I can recall. 

The passing game was okay. There were a number of long passes, one in particular by Ruggs that was impressive. 

Next up is short trip to Starkville to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State. 

[Belated] Sunday Hangover: LSU

That was a game of defensive brilliance by the Crimson Tide. And LSU was no slouch either. 

The Tide's D stifled what was a strong offense and earned the honor of the whole defense being named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week. Ryan Anderson was named the SEC defensive player of the week, and J.K. Scott was named the SEC special teams player of the week. 

The Alabama defense held LSU to a total of six first downs, 33 net yards rushing, and 125 yards of total offense. 

Besides the one long pass to Stewart, the Tide's passing game wasn't prolific at all, and LSU, to their credit, played the run pretty well for a good portion of the game. Unfortunately, the fine pass to Stewart didn't result in a score. The Crimson Tide went for it on fourth and goal, but the play got all kinds of discombobulated. 

Eventually the Tide's offense got into gear in the second half on the shoulders of Jalen Hurts. Also, Scarbrough had a solid game with sledge-hammer runs reminiscent of Derrick Henry.

Next up is Mississippi State, a squad that shocked many by beating Texas A&M on Saturday. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

Five in a row. 

The Crimson Tide has defeated the LSU Tigers five games in a row. 

Besides two mistakes--Mattias-Smith getting beat on a long pass via a corner blitz and Henry fumbling in the fourth--Alabama played really well, especially the defense that held Fournette to 31 net yards. That's the guy who has been repeatedly called "the best player in college football."

Derrick Henry's actions and stats might counter that talking point. Henry had 210 net rushing yards on 38 carries and three touchdowns. He's a beast and has the pundits seriously considering him, finally, in the Heisman race. 

Kenyan Drake had a good game too with 68 net rushing yards on 10 carries. He also had 40 yards on three catches in the passing game. 

Another big star in the game was the defense of Alabama. Except for a few plays, they just whipped the offensive line of LSU. It was beautiful. 

Next week's game is worrisome because Mississippi State has been playing well, and Prescott is a very dangerous quarterback. He's been running a lot more this season, and true dual-threat quarterbacks usually give the Tide headaches. 

Sunday Hangover: LSU

Last night in Baton Rouge we watched a typical Alabama-LSU slugfest. None of this spread-you-out, soft, finesse football. Hard hits abounded. No bullshit football. 

Besides a few drives by the Crimson Tide, LSU dominated the the game in regulation. Alabama beat the Tigers in total offensive yards - 315 to 259 - but LSU had the ball the most on offense: 38:16 to Alabama's 21:44. That's a huge difference in ball control. 

Credit the Tide D for hanging in there and sustaining a pounding. 

Credit the offense for waking up with 50 seconds to go in regulation. Sims came alive, and so did the receiving corps. 

On defense, DL Jarran Reed and LB Reggie Ragland accounted for 28 total tackles:

• Reed: 2 solos, 13 assists, one of which was a tackle for loss
• Ragland: 4 solos, 9 assists, one of which was a tackle for loss

The great catch and run by Cooper for a TD and the beautiful fade pass to White for the winning touchdown in overtime are plays to remember from this game. 

As much as I'm happy about the win, I'm concerned about the Tide's running game. The Tide will get tested by Mississippi State's "Psycho Defense" this coming Saturday.