It was an uneven, sloppy game for most of the night, but that all changed in the fourth quarter as the two teams traded leads before a 45-yard field goal by Alabama kicker Will Reichard barely cleared the uprights to tie the game. the game and effectively force overtime. with 21 seconds left. Alabama struck first after a third-down interception gave the Tide renewed life. Running back Roydell Williams scored from 1 yard out to make it a 31-24 game. That gave Bama 17 of its 24 points as it battled back from a 17-15 deficit with 7 minutes left in regulation. That was before Daniels and LSU had some magic in their pockets with Kelly deciding to let it all lead to the 2-point conversion. Daniels was outstanding for the Tigers finishing with three total touchdowns, 182 yards passing and a team-high 95 yards rushing on 18 carries. Although Alabama QB Bryce Young had some bright spots, including a stellar 41-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Corey Brooks late in the fourth quarter that gave the Tide a late lead, he was inconsistent throughout. A stout LSU defense held him to 25-of-51 passing for 328 yards with that touchdown toss and an interception he threw in the end zone early in the game. In other words, Young made his share of plays, but Daniels and LSU simply made more. The win puts LSU in the SEC West lead as it now has a tiebreaker over Alabama and Ole Miss with all three teams having one loss in the league. While the loss doesn’t completely eliminate Bama from the SEC race, it makes a College Football Playoff appearance unlikely for a program that has been in seven of eight games to date. Let’s take a look at some more takeaways from LSU’s stunning upset of Alabama in Death Valley.
The Tide are completely dependent on Young
The reigning Heisman winner can only do so much. As Alabama has entered its SEC schedule, it’s clearly not enough for the Tide to put their entire offensive game plan on his shoulders. After losing a number of talented playmakers to the NFL Draft over the past two seasons, Bama has struggled to replace them with similarly dominant players in the passing game. The Tide just don’t have enough players who can stretch the field and get pieces. Of Alabama’s top four rushers Saturday, only Brooks (97 yards) is a wide receiver. The next wideout, Jermaine Burton, was fifth with two grabs for 19 yards. Bama is asking its running backs and tight ends to do too much, and while RB Jahmyr Gibbs had 23 combined touches for 163 yards, that’s not enough to compete offensively at the level the Tide is used to.
Bama is not the same team on the road
This defeat should probably come as no surprise. Sure, Alabama was a 13-point favorite, but anyone who has paid attention to the Tide’s performance on the road all season knew it might not be that easy. There was the 20-19 win over Texas in which Young had to lead a late comeback despite the Longhorns losing starting QB Quinn Ewers for the first half of the game. Then there was the game in which Bama was unable to complete its comeback. They fell behind Tennessee 28-7, and despite going on a run to take the lead, couldn’t hold on in a 52-49 loss. There was the 23-point win over Arkansas, but the Razorbacks just lost at home to Liberty on Saturday, so I’m not sure we should call this a tough road game this season. It’s certainly no harder to win in Fayetteville, Arkansas, than it is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at night. It’s enough to make you wonder what might happen next week when Alabama is back on the road against Ole Miss.
Daniels makes the difference
Daniels arrived at Arizona State in 2019 with pressure the size of the Grand Canyon. He was billed as the most polished quarterback in his class and won the starting job as a true freshman. After a strong campaign, he regressed to a point where he was expendable and had to fight and claw his way back to earn his job at LSU. He wasn’t ready — at least not right away. In the last month, however, it has proven exactly why it has had such a hype. He has thrown 14 touchdowns and thrown just one interception this year with seven touchdown runs over the last three games. He had Alabama defenders’ heads spinning in part because of the deceptive speed he displayed when LSU needed it most: the first play in the final half of overtime to set up the game-winning 2-point conversion. He was the best quarterback in Death Valley on Saturday. The way Daniels’ season is going, the best may be yet to come.
Brian Kelly proved he is the man for the job
LSU’s extra point attempt against Florida State in Week 1 was blocked, and all eyes immediately turned to Kelly. He wasn’t prepared. His team was undisciplined. He wasn’t cut out for the SEC. Change that narrative in a hurry. Kelly has developed this offense into a powerhouse and has held this team together through some tough times. Daniels was confused in that first game and didn’t get any help from his offensive line or his receiving corps — including presumptive superstar Kayshon Boutte. Instead, he deployed a more versatile wide receiver corps with Malik Nabers, Jaray Jenkins and Mason Taylor to help Boutte as the offense continued to develop. This coincided with the development of Daniels as a legitimate dual threat who is incredibly difficult to prepare for. This LSU team has confidence on the ground and in the air, but Kelly built the special teams as well. That made a big difference on Saturday. Damian Ramos had his only field goal attempt Saturday, Noah Cain averaged 21 yards on kickoff returns and Jay Bramblet pinned Alabama inside the 20-yard line on three of his six attempts. It was a position game and LSU came out with the advantage. This was something that seemed impossible a month ago.
