Debacle in Death Valley: LSU Tigers declawed by Alabama

One of the keys to victory for LSU over Alabama was to keep Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe contained and not let him make plays with his legs.

LSU failed miserably in that regard as Milroe set a single-season school record for rushing TDs by an Alabama quarterback. The Crimson Tide dominated the Tigers 42-13 in a rain storm and before a packed house at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Milroe has been a one-man safari against the Tigers the last two seasons. On Saturday night, Milroe rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns, including a 39-yard touchdown run on their opening possession of the game to take a quick 7-0 lead and a 72-yard scoring sprint to start the fourth quarter.

The LSU offense could not get on track. Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier didn’t complete his first pass until the end of the first quarter. Aside from a 45-yard run by running back Caden Durham to set up first and goal for the Tigers, LSU could not get in the end zone and had to settle for two first half field goals and a late touchdown in the waning seconds of the game.

On defense, LSU could not make any stops. Alabama was faced several times with 3rd down and long yardage, but managed to convert for a fresh set of downs (10 of 13 on third-down conversions). What has plagued LSU all season continued Saturday night: giving up big yardage plays and failure to make stops when it was needed the most.

LSU suffered clock management issues, penalties, missed tackles, poor execution and 3 turnovers by Nussmeier. Nussmeier now has the dubious distinction of being tied with Georgia’s Carson Beck for most INTs in the SEC with 11.

With the loss, LSU falls to 6-3 (3-2 in the SEC) and is essentially eliminated from the College Football Playoff. Alabama secured their seventh win of the season.

Next weekend, Alabama hosts Mercer and LSU travels to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators.

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