Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe played as if his life were on the line; as if a solid performance against LSU would solidify his chance at winning the Heisman trophy. It wasn’t Milroe in the running, though.
It was LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, and his night ended just two minutes into the fourth quarter, when he was hurried into the injury tent. The CBS broadcast later confirmed that he was under concussion protocol.
“He had a head injury and was not able to come back,” head coach Brian Kelly said following the game. “Obviously have to put him through more testing before I can accurately say whether that was a concussion, not a concussion, things of that nature.”
PHOTOS: LSU Football falls to Alabama 42-28 in Bryant-Denny Stadium
A hit to the upper body from Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner left Daniels on the ground for what felt like minutes.
When he did walk off of the field, Garrett Nussmeier ran in from the sidelines for the next play. Incredibly enough, however, Daniels found his place behind his offensive line for the very next snap.
“It’s tough to see that situation, and to see him come out is a bummer, but we knew that we had Nussmeier,” running back Josh Williams said about Daniels’ hit. “We had all our faith in him.”
Though Daniels was reevaluated soon after, and taken out for the remainder of the game, this resilience from the team’s leader has been an obvious driving factor to a successful offensive production all season.
“Jayden Daniels is our leader,” Williams said. “We all look up to Jayden. We all migrate to him whenever things go like that.”
LSU’s 42-28 loss to the Crimson Tide was a display of offensive dominance from both teams. It was an even larger display of the defensive excellence that the Tigers lack.
Going into Tuscaloosa with a No. 1 ranked offense, it was expected that LSU’s race to the end zone would be hard to stop. For Alabama’s No. 78 ranked offense, however, a strong defensive performance from LSU would’ve shut it down. Instead, Milroe pieced together one of the best outings of his career.
“We talked all week about a unit pass rush,” Kelly said. “He’s elusive. I think for the most part, the big runs were probably the things that hurt us the most tonight.”
Milroe and his offense garnered 507 total yards on the game, 288 of which were rushing yards. The quarterback accounted for 155 of those rushing yards. Milroe also ran for four touchdowns in the game, a school record. Fans watched Milroe scramble down the field into the endzone, effortlessly dodging LSU’s defenders.
Up until that hit in the fourth quarter, Daniels was piecing together his own Heisman run. The Tigers collected a total of 478 yards. The quarterback was responsible for 163 of LSU’s 206 rushing yards. Daniels also accounted for one touchdown.
“He’s an amazing man, Heisman candidate, of course,” Williams said about Daniels. “I mean, that’s why he’s there. He just kept rallying, rallying and putting the team on his back when we needed him. He was leading us on the sideline and giving us encouragement, so we really missed him in the fourth quarter.”
Wide receiver Malik Nabers continued to shine in LSU’s offensive production. The connections between the junior and his quarterback once again led the stat sheet. Nabers accounted for 171 receiving yards. He had 10 receptions on the night and caught one touchdown.
Unfortunately for LSU, the offensive powerhouse it contained was overshadowed by a defense that couldn’t perform. The Crimson Tide’s offensive success was due solely to the Tiger defense’s lack of aggression. It led to Milroe’s season-high performance.
LSU’s defense allowed the Tide to take control of the game. That offensive security was never in danger of being taken away.
“Our offense controlled the tempo of the game, especially in the second half,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “I think that was the difference in the game.”
