Initial Impressions from the LSU game

Alabama and LSU faced off in a battle of two-loss SEC foes fighting for their playoff lives. The Tigers were ranked outside the playoff field and were thus the more desperate team. Unfortunately for them, they hired Lane Kiffin who tends to make very questionable decisions in desperate moments. Lane called for a first half field goal attempt that was three yards beyond his kicker’s career long. He went for 4th and 4 inside the 10-yard line, which is a pretty low percentage play. He came up short on another 4th and 5, but his most disastrous miscue was going for 4th-and-10 from his own 25 with eight minutes left in the game. LSU was down by 11 points, but that sack quickly pushed the deficit out to 18 and the game was over. That was the kind of decision that might have a NFL coach fired by Monday. The Tigers outgained Alabama by almost 200 yards. That is misleading as field position played a big part in it, but the score is also misleading as LSU was slightly more efficient on a per play basis. Alabama won this one by being better in the red zone and winning the turnover battle, particularly when turnovers on downs are counted. As an aside, I’ve always wondered why a turnover on downs isn’t counted as a turnover, while a 4th-down fumble or interception is. In any case, let’s get to a few impressions: Special teams played a massive role. As mentioned above, Alabama had a 13-yard advantage in average starting field position. Kiffin’s antics certainly helped, but Alex Asparuhov was a monster as well. He punted five times and averaged 49.8 per attempt, which flipped the field and made LSU drive long distances. Conor Talty put last week’s shaky performance behind him to drill his 43-yard attempt. LSU missed the ill-advised 56-yard attempt that set up Alabama’s first short field touchdown. Oh, and this happened. Welcome back, Ryan! Which leads us to… Injuries matter. It took exactly one play for Terrance Green to remind us what we’ve been missing with him out of the lineup. LSU tested the middle of the line and Green emphatically denied access. The Tide ended up holding LSU leading rusher Dilin Jones to only 3.3 yards per attempt, putting the game in the hands of mistake prone Sam Leavitt. Having Green available made a night-and-day difference against the run. Alabama’s pass protection looked more settled as well with Racin Delgatty back. There is still room to grow here, but it was better. And Coleman-Williams clearly makes a difference in the passing game, drawing defensive attention even if he isn’t getting the targets. It struck me that, in the NFL, a team can make trades to address injuries where needed, and even pick up stop-gap options to get through a 2-3 game stretch. There are always veterans who didn’t find a home in the offseason but still have something to offer. In college ball we have unfettered free agency but no mechanism for in-season acquisitions. If injuries decimate a position group and leave nothing but players who aren’t ready for prime time, coaches just have to make do. This is why you hear Kirby Smart talking so much about increasing the roster size. Luke Metz and Devan Thompkins came up big. Devan Thompkins pinned his ears back and ended up with two sacks on six hurries. He was doubly effective after LSU’s right tackle went down. And, Luke Metz was a game changer. He was personally responsible for at least two LSU drives ending, with a key fourth down run stuff and the interception late in the first half where he read Leavitt’s eyes beautifully. The defense bent an awful lot more than any Alabama fan was comfortable with. Giving up 13 points is awesome, but allowing 380 passing yards is not. Still, they came up big in the red zone and these two dudes were a massive part of it. Keelon conquered the blitz and the hostile environment. It was fair to wonder how Russell would handle the environment in Baton Rouge, considering the way things went down in Knoxville. The crowd certainly played a role in Alabama’s four pre-snap offensive penalties, which need to be addressed. Still, Keelon kept his cool and delivered some daggers. He also showed growth against the blitz, getting the ball out of his hands quickly from the opening possession. These two areas are probably his biggest development opportunities, and we saw real improvement yesterday. It says a lot about the kind of competitor he is that he came out of the injury tent facing the first deficit of the game, and immediately made big time plays with both his arm and legs to get Alabama back in front. His talent has always jumped off of the screen and there has been no reason to doubt his will, but his youth has shown up at times including in Knoxville. He looked nothing like a rookie yesterday, and in fact out-classed Leavitt who was making his 29th college start. If this game serves as a springboard for his confidence, look out. We still need to see some semblance of a run game if Alabama is going to make noise in the playoff. Trae’shawn Brown and Daniel Hill barely averaged three yards per tote, which simply isn’t good enough. LSU has had an elite rushing defense all season, but Alabama needs to find some juice here. It’s curious that EJ Crowell and AK Dear were both cleared to play in the game, but neither got a touch. Perhaps they will get some work at Vandy next weekend. It was obviously a great day for Alabama in terms of securing a playoff spot, but there will be a massive shakeup and it’s possible that they drop a spot or two. The committee will now have to figure out what to do with one-loss Notre Dame and Miami after the Irish win last night, Texas banked a road win at ranked Mizzou, and Tennessee beat Kentucky by the same margin that Alabama did. If the ‘Horns and Vols are now considered to be in the same “pod” with Alabama, then head to head can come into play and the Tide could well be third in the pecking order since Texas beat Tennessee, who beat Alabama. Indiana is the team that may fall the most, as their Big Ten opponents incredibly went 0-8 yesterday which leaves them with absolutely nothing to hang their hat on as far as a signature win. There will be plenty of discussion about that leading up to Tuesday’s reveal, but Alabama just needs to focus on winning their games. They have secured their spot as long as they do that, and that’s a great place to be at this stage of the season. Roll Tide.