Hello Tiger fans. Well, we hit Alabama harder than any competitor so far, and we gave them a ball game for the first time in their season. But it wasn’t enough in the end. And while it was disappointing to watch another game in Tuscaloosa wind down as a Crimson win, I am as ready as ever to play them next year in Death Valley. As Coach Orgeron said in his post-game interview: “We comin’…We comin’…We ain’t backin’ down.”
Unlike last year, the Tigers moved the ball on Alabama. Looking at the stats, we had more rushing yards, total yards, first downs and time of possession. Even when we ran it off-tackle with Guice, we got yards. This year the jet sweep threatened the Bama front seven, giving our offensive line a chance to push them around. We even saw some new plays like a wildcat to Darrel Williams that created the only big play of the game.
Overall, we lost because we did not create the big plays we needed to put points on the scoreboard. Our few trips to the red zone did not end in scores. We had two chances to complete a long pass only to have it hit the turf with an “AWWWW” from every purple & gold fan in the crowd. Danny Etling made good throws but didn’t make the right decisions consistently. I wrote in my pre-game predictions that if he threw one interception Alabama would capitalize. Well, they turned his one interception into a touchdown, giving Bama a lead they would never relinquish.
Despite Alabama scoring twice as many points this year, I was thoroughly impressed with our defensive effort. We got to Jalen Hurts before routinely and did not let him get comfortable. We held them to their lowest rushing game all year. In fact, I’m bold enough to say that our defensive line outplayed their offensive line. Arden Key set the two second stopwatch in Jalen hurt’s head with constant pressure. Our biggest mistake of the night, however, came on a crucial third down play when Devin White and Corey Thompson blitzed. They both got to Hurts but neither could bring him down. Hurts broke free and got a first down on what became a touchdown drive. Besides a few critical errors, LSU’s defense completely dominated the Tide.
The real edge that Alabama grabbed early and never let go was field position. It was Alabama starting their drives on the 50 and LSU starting theirs on the 10 yard line all game. Marching LSU’s offense 90 yards down the field was just too tall a task.
For the first time I felt like Alabama’s reign over LSU was finally winding down. LSU is finally able to move the ball against this tough defense, and we have young talent waiting in the wings that will give LSU the edge in future years (ie, Myles Brennan).
“We comin’…We comin’…We ain’t backin’ down.”
Geaux Tigers!
