For 58 minutes, the No. 20 LSU football team proved it could compete with No. 4 Alabama, executing a game plan that nearly resulted in a second consecutive win against a top-5 team.
In two minutes, the Tigers showed their fan base that they don’t know how to close out.
The Tigers’ 20-13 loss to Alabama on Saturday dashed any wild hopes of LSU still winning the Southeastern Conference and ended an impressive three-game winning streak. LSU’s inexperience showed up at the worst possible time, and the Tigers choked the game away.
Youth has been the one constant for LSU, and at some point, fans knew that was going to haunt the team. It happened against LSU’s biggest rival, and the Tigers lost all focus when given a chance to win in the final moments.
Every storyline was written when senior running back T.J. Yeldon fumbled the ball with less than two minutes left. LSU had dominated time of possession and received a lucky turnover late to pull the upset.
The Tigers lost all composure only a few yards away from a win. It’s what happens to a team led by freshmen and sophomores.
LSU began the meltdown when junior offensive lineman Vadal Alexander pushed a player to warrant a 15-yard penalty. It doesn’t matter if the push was a penalty or if LSU coach Les Miles thought it was a bad call — it was still a moronic decision by Alexander. Recognize you’re on the cusp of ending the game, and avoid penalties at all costs.
Up three with less than a minute left, LSU needed only an ounce of concentration to keep the score intact. Then sophomore Trent Domingue, the guy whose only job is kickoffs, did the worst thing possible and kicked the ball out of bounds to start the Tide at the 35.
Perhaps the LSU coaching staff suddenly forgot squib kicks existed leading up to that play. Perhaps Domingue, who has played football for only four years, got frightened in the heat of the moment. Whatever it was, it gave the Tide the momentum it needed for the next drive.
Alabama ran the same or similar plays it had run all game on the ensuing drive, but this time, LSU could not stop them. Suddenly, the man-to-man coverage that had worked all night was leading to open receivers. After getting pressure all night, the defensive line couldn’t sack Alabama senior quarterback Blake Sims when the Tide had no timeouts.
Some of the credit goes to Sims for making his best throws of the night, but it was still an appalling job by the defense. If you really are one of the best pass defenses in the country, you’re not going to let an offense blow past you in the dying seconds.
By overtime, Alabama was so comfortable with scoring on LSU’s defense it committed two penalties inside the five to make things interesting before getting a touchdown. With the game in the hands of sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings, one can guess what happened next.
The biggest losers from the Tigers’ collapse are not the fans, but the LSU coaches who outdid Alabama’s coaches all night.
Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron kept the ball from the Tide’s offense as long as possible, and defensive coordinator John Chavis kept players in line even without sophomore cornerback Rashard Robinson.
After the Yeldon fumble, Alabama coach Nick Saban called a timeout and kept his team in check with one message.
“This is where you show you know how to win,” Saban said.
It’s a concept this young LSU team still doesn’t grasp. It takes tough lessons like Saturday night to make it understandable.
Tommy Romanach is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Dallas, Texas. You can reach him on Twitter @TRoman_92.
Opinion: LSU football’s inexperience, youth costly in overtime loss to Alabama
November 9, 2014
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