LSU Football beats Alabama in classic, takes control of SEC West

LSU Football beat the Alabama Crimson Tide, 32-31. Jayden Daniels threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels also had 95 yards rushing. Josh Williams had 54 yards on 7 carries for the Tigers. Bryce Young had 328 yards and 1 touchdown. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 99 yards on 15 carries.

The game started out with punts till the second quarter. While there was an interception by the Tigers in between that, LSU didn’t do much with the interception, only having 36 yards.

The scoring drought ended early in the second quarter when Daniels’ arm led the Tigers to a TD. Bama’s offense finally woke up on the next drive but had to settle for three due to offensive line struggles.

Alabama would get the ball back after LSU struggled to get anything really going. The Tide would get going again on this drive, but would again have to settle for three. The score was 6-7, going into the half.

Halftime didn’t change much for the Tide, as they got driving downfield but couldn’t find pay-dirt. They had to settle for three but they took a 2-point lead. Daniels put on a show on the next drive and ended up setting up a score for the Tigers.

Josh Williams had a solid drive as well, as his legs ended up with the score on the drive. Quick possessions and punts by both sides happened next till the Tide broke the spell at the beginning of the fourth.

The Alabama Crimson Tide went to work behind Young’s arm and Jahmyr Gibbs’ legs and found pay-dirt. LSU responded by getting a field goal. Bryce Young quickly went back to work and the Tide took the lead behind a TD. LSU continued the offensive fireworks behind Daniels and Co., taking the lead with a TD once again.

With Alabama only having less than 2 minutes left, the Tide went to work and got down the field. They had to settle for the tie, as they couldn’t find success near the red zone. In OT, the fireworks continued but LSU Football would win behind a bold move.

LSU Football defeats Alabama, takes control in SEC West

On the first possession of overtime, Alabama cooked for a TD. They did not go for two, opting for the PAT. This wasn’t really a risky move at all, and the preferred coaching decision, but it still must be noted after the game.

Jayden Daniels quickly stopped any debate about whether LSU would match. Daniels ran on the first play of OT, running for 25 yards and a TD. Brian Kelly opted to go for two. On a QB rollout play, where the pass was intended to go to Mason Taylor’s flat route, the pass was caught and LSU won the game. The stadium was so loud after the 2-point conversion that it even registered on LSU’s seismograph.

This game likely eliminated Bama from playoff bid consideration. The season ended after failing to stop that 2 point conversion. While all things considered they will still go to a great bowl game, in Tideland that is considered a disappointment.

Special team issues, poor offensive line play, and repeatedly committing stupid penalties caused this very talented Tide team to not reach expectations this year.

Despite the issues this year, I would expect Alabama with at least 10 wins and most likely 11 (Considering how Ole Miss has its own issues, I think the Tide beat them this week; other opponents are two easy wins in Austin Peay and Auburn). For a lot of programs in the country that is a very successful season, but in Alabama, that is a failed season.

Brian Kelly’s first season with LSU Football is a major success. That is a fact after beating Bama. The season started out horribly against Florida State, and at times looked bad; see the Auburn game; but two straight weeks of upsets have changed that for Brian Kelly.

After beating Ole Miss and Alabama, the SEC West title for the Tigers is now possible. All LSU has to do to take the west is to win out. Considering they have Arkansas, UAB, and Texas A&M, that should be very achievable.

Beating Georiga (assuming they win out) in the title game will be a super tall order. If they do beat them in the title game, the committee would probably have to put the Tigers into the playoff.

The loss against Florida State is very ugly, and this team hasn’t looked at all like a playoff team for parts of the year, but the fact but they would have the SEC title+ Georgia win+ Bama win is hard to argue against. At best, they are a four-seed but considering where the season started, that is a huge success.

I really wouldn’t expect the Tigers to win the SEC title game (assuming they win-out and I expect them to). This puts their college football playoff probability at low, but nothing can be ruled out this time of year for Kelly and Co.