Alabama and LSU met in a top-15 showdown in Tiger Stadium at a crossroads: win out or go home.
Through all the headlines, including a live tiger returning to Death Valley and the swirling rain, the Tigers decided on the latter: The Crimson Tide flooded the Bayou Bengals 42-13.
“You’re living on borrowed time when you keep putting yourself in those tough positions, and tonight the dam broke when we kept putting ourselves in these tough positions,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “The dam finally broke.”
But what did we learn from all the tough positions and broken dams? Here are three takeaways from the loss.
LSU can’t defend scrambling quarterbacks
Following the loss to Texas A&M, Kelly said his squad has prepared for the rushing quarterback. That has yet to ring true in the past two contests.
Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed had 62 yards and a hat trick of touchdowns off nine carries. Against Alabama, Milroe ran wild for a career-high 185 rushing yards and four touchdowns on twelve attempts. This comes a year after Milroe’s 155-yard, four-touchdown performance on the ground led the Tide past the Tigers.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel when it comes to defending the quarterback,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “There’s only a couple ways to defend them.”
At this point, Kelly’s crew might be better off reinventing the wheel because whatever they have made is not working. When Kelly says that his defense has tightened up their scrambling quarterback squeeze, it feels kind of hard to believe him, at least until LSU puts together a competent performance against a rushing quarterback.
In two weeks, the Bayou Bengals host one of the best scramblers in the SEC, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.
Joe Sloan lacks situational play-calling
It’s 3rd-and-11. The purple and gold trail by 15 and are set up at the Crimson Tide’s 49-yard line with 12 seconds left in the half. They need to try and get something here.
Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier swings it over to running back Caden Durham as he slips and falls in the wet grass of Death Valley, losing six yards. Halftime.
This was one of the many head-scratchers drawn up by LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan against Alabama. It felt as if Sloan needed more situational awareness throughout the game. When the Tigers needed only a couple yards, Sloan would opt to gun it; behind the sticks, Sloan would fall back on the run or short passes.
The Bayou Bengals got away from their run game early as Alabama controlled the clock throughout the entirety of the first half, doubling the amount of Nussmeier pass attempts to handoffs.
Sloan’s offense has looked electric in previous points this season. But against real competition like the Crimson Tide, some of Sloan’s faults finally came to light. It will be interesting to see the approach and identity that this team takes with them throughout their final three games.
With all the playmakers on the outside, expect the ball to be thrown around the yard in the future as Sloan looks to unlock Nussmeier to end the 2024 campaign.
Time’s up, Garrett Nussmeier and Brian Kelly
As the clock hit zeros in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, another clock began ticking.
How much time is left for Nussmeier and Kelly here in Baton Rouge?
Nussmeier has fallen back to up-in-the-air draft status as quickly as he ascended to potential first-round hopeful in April’s 2025 NFL Draft. His 11 interceptions are second in the SEC only to Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, as Nussmeier consistently throws up jump balls while trying to make plays that aren’t presented to him.
Kelly will end his third straight season at LSU without a playoff berth, but is his seat hot enough yet to warrant a firing?
If not, at some point, something has got to give in Baton Rouge. Kelly was brought to this program to win national championships, yet three years in, the Tigers have yet to sniff the postseason. Kelly’s crews are consistently good 10-win teams but never great, national championship-worthy teams.
If you want to be in that second category, you need to be able to beat Alabama in Death Valley, under the lights, with your season on the line. If you can’t do that, it’s time to find somebody who can.
With how Nussmeier has played in the back half of the season, his future is also up in the air. Where will Nussmeier end up? Only time will tell.
LSU’s final three games are at Florida and back home in Death Valley for Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. With neither Nussmeier nor Kelly’s seat in Baton Rouge reserved, the Tigers will look to soul-search throughout their final three games and find the answers they need in the offseason.
