In recent years, Alabama and LSU have had their share of down-to-the-wire drama, but Saturday’s game may have been the toughest one to swallow for the Tigers.
No. 20 LSU (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) had its winning streak snapped by the No. 4 Crimson Tide (8-1, 5-1 SEC) after a late collapse by the Tigers, which seemingly came down to questionable officiating down the stretch.
“It was a tough one,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “I have a bad taste in my mouth from that game.”
The first of what many Tigers believed to be questionable officiating came on the unsportsmanlike penalty called on junior offensive lineman Vadal Alexander. The 15-yard penalty pushed the Tigers back, creating a second-and-long instead of second-and-goal from the 6-yard line.
A field goal gave the Tigers the lead, but the penalty proved costly in the end.
“That penalty changed the complexion of the game,” Miles said. “If we don’t get the 15‐yard penalty there, we are on the 5 or 7 [yard line]. We are talking about driving it in for a 7‐pointer. That penalty was at a tremendously pointed time in that game.”
Instead of forcing Alabama to put the ball in the end zone when it began its drive with 0:50 remaining, the Crimson Tide only needed a field goal to bring the game to overtime.
LSU sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings said the game was physical and there was a lot of pushing and shoving going on throughout, but to make the call on Alexander in that situation was a difficult decision to make.
“I didn’t see Vadal [Alexander] do anything, honestly. He got pushed back and fell pretty much onto me,” Jennings said. “So saying that he did something, I don’t really know. I’ll have to watch the film to see, but being in the moment, I think he really didn’t do anything.”
Miles said he’ll have to go back and look at the play to make a further evaluation of the call made, but from what he was told, it wasn’t Alexander’s fault.
“I was told that it was a personal foul and that was the guy. I wasn’t told what he did,” Miles said. “I can tell you my team told me that it was not the case, that he did not hit anybody, that he was yanked on. That call was the single most significant piece, minus that drive, in the game.”
As significant as the unsportsmanlike call was, it wasn’t the last questionable encounter the Tigers had with the referees Saturday.
The Tigers saw multiple opportunities for pass interference calls throughout the game that didn’t go their way, especially in overtime.
LSU elected to go to the air in overtime in hopes of catching the defense off guard, but instead it found highly contested coverage the Tigers believed to be too tight.
On third and 10, Jennings looked for sophomore wide receiver Travin Dural on a post route only to find the Alabama defender swarming in to break up the play. The defender timed the route, but Jennings said he believes the defender got there early.
“He pretty much tackled him before the ball got there,” Jennings said. “That’s a hard call to take when you need that first down.”
It wasn’t called, and on a hopeful heave to the end zone to tie the game on fourth down, a similar situation arose.
Jennings looked for freshman wide receiver Malachi Dupre, this time one-on-one with his defender in the end zone, but Dupre couldn’t come down with the ball after some jousting with the defender.
“He’s in the middle of the end zone and then got pushed out the back, so I don’t really know how they saw that,” Jennings said.
Dupre said he felt there was some obvious interference on the play, but regardless, the team needs to execute plays better in the passing game.
“The defensive back grabbed my hands. He didn’t hit the ball,” Dupre said. “He was facing me. Another tough thing to swallow, the referee didn’t make the call.”
Miles was frustrated with the referees when discussing the officiating crew during his postgame press conference, and he wasn’t happy with the way the crew called the game.
“They picked up that [flag] on Travin Dural, they picked that one right up,” Miles said. “They said, ‘No, it was just one arm he had,’ but [the defender] had the other one, too.”
For a team that gave the game its all just to see the Crimson Tide spoil its season yet again, it’s a painful pill to swallow.
“It’s tough, man, it’s tough. But that’s what we signed up for, right?” said LSU senior center Elliott Porter, who was visibly shaken up. “We signed up for it. [It’s a] tough one, but we have to swallow it.”