In 2023, then-No. 8 Alabama beat No. 14 LSU 42-28 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa to thrust them into a College Football Playoff appearance. On Saturday, the Tigers are looking to flip last season’s script.
No. 15 LSU hosts the No. 11 Crimson Tide in Tiger Stadium in a heavyweight bout of colossal proportions. The winner can parlay their victory into a trip to the SEC Championship and even the College Football Playoff, keeping their season alive. The loser will be forced to play out the rest of their season, knowing they might’ve been a game away from greatness.
Saturday night’s result in Death Valley will send shockwaves throughout the college football landscape. The whole country will be watching.
With that said, what went wrong for the Bayou Bengals in 2023?
It starts with the battle in the trenches. LSU could not halt Alabama’s run game, specifically Jalen Milroe. The Crimson Tide quarterback ran wild for 155 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Alabama finished the night with 46 rushing attempts for 288 yards, an average of 6.3 yards per carry. That is not a recipe for success.
The Tigers have the tacklers to keep Milroe in check this time, especially at linebacker. Suddenly emergent star sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks leads the purple and gold in tackles with 74. Greg Penn III is also a surefire tackler; he wears No. 18 at LSU for a reason.
Contributions from safeties Major Burns and Sage Ryan will benefit the Bayou Bengals on Saturday. The defensive line is also much improved, solidified by edge rushers Bradyn Swinson and Sai’vion Jones. If they can apply pressure and the Tigers can get Milroe on the ground, the Crimson Tide will start to get a lot more one-dimensional, making last season’s 42-point performance look like a distant memory.
But what about the purple and gold’s offense?
In 2023, Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels put LSU’s offense on his back. The No. 2 overall pick in April’s 2024 NFL Draft threw for 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while running for 163 yards and another touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, Daniels was rocked by Alabama’s Dallas Turner, resulting in a roughing the passer call. Daniels did not return for the rest of the game, effectively sealing a win for the Crimson Tide.
Without Daniels, the Tigers lost a central part of their rushing attack this season, but that hasn’t stopped Bayou Bengals head coach Brian Kelly from pounding the rock.
Freshman Caden Durham worked his way into Kelly’s running back rotation following the loss of senior back John Emery Jr. After a 128-yard, two-touchdown performance against South Alabama in late September, Durham took the starting job and hasn’t looked back.
With Daniels running for his life in the 2023 game, he would’ve heavily appreciated having a player like Durham in the backfield. Kelly got away from the ground game early in last year’s matchup, opting to hand it to his backs a measly 13 times, compared to Alabama’s 24 attempts, a number that’s nearly double.
While this year’s LSU offensive line will be without injured starting guard Garrett Dellinger, if it can clear running lanes, it will take immense pressure off quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to make plays that aren’t there. Nussmeier’s attempts at hero ball gashed LSU in their matchup against Texas A&M. His three second-half picks handed the Aggies the lead and, eventually, the win.
But Nussmeier has the talent around him to make plays, just like Daniels did in 2023.
Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers torched the Crimson Tide’s secondary with 10 catches for 171 yards in 2023. The Bayou Bengals possess a similar talent on the outside with wide receiver Kyren Lacy, who’s top-seven in the SEC in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Nussmeier and Lacy have had a Daniels and Nabers-like connection this season. Every time the purple and gold need a big play, Lacy has been down there somewhere.
Add slot receiver Aaron Anderson into the mix, and LSU has a chance to put up some serious points in this matchup.
Don’t overlook Tigers’ tight end Mason Taylor, either. He caught the walk-off, game-winning touchdown to beat Alabama at Tiger Stadium two years ago.
Following a quiet three-catch, 19-yard night in 2023, Taylor will be looking to make noise on Saturday night. Expect Bayou Bengals’ offensive coordinator Joe Sloan’s gameplay to include Taylor and lots of him.
If the purple and gold can control the trenches on both sides of the ball, they might just have the blueprint to beat Alabama at Death Valley on Saturday night.