It’s been a defensive struggle so far here at Tiger Stadium in a matchup between SEC West rivals LSU and Alabama this afternoon.
LSU put the first points on the board on a 45-yard field goal by Josh Jasper with 9:23 left in the first quarter following an interception by Kelvin Sheppard. Alabama scored with 12:55 to play in the second quarter on a 1-yard pass from quarterback Greg McElroy to running back Trent Richardson to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive that took 6:15 off the clock.
Both teams punted four times in the first half. LSU’s longest drive yardage-wise came on its final possession of the first half when the Tigers pulled off nine plays for 50 yards after taking over from their own 3-yard line with 1:25 remaining in the half.
An option play from Jefferson to Michael Ford gave LSU a first-down on a 3rd-and-4 play, and LSU seemed to realize they had a chance to score before the half with all three timeouts left. A Stevan Ridley run and passes from Jefferson to Shepard and Peterson put LSU at its own 39-yard line.
Jefferson lofted a long pass to wide receiver Rueben Randle with 21 seconds left, but the pass was just a little too long. The half ended at the Alabama 47-yard line with two LSU timeouts on the board as the clock ran out on an 11-yard pass from Jefferson to Toliver.
With the difference just 7-3 this afternoon, the game is far from over. The teams are taking the field now to get ready for the second half. LSU will receive the kickoff.
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Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected].