There was a playmaker in Death Valley on Saturday Night. He was scrambling in the pocket, looking for lucky shots and extending plays for extra yards with his legs.
It was a look LSU fans were all too familiar with: a dual-threat quarterback who would tuck it and run when left optionless.
But this talent didn’t come from the LSU side. It was Alabama’s Jalen Milroe who created opportunities on offense all night long.
He was off to a hot start in the first quarter and didn’t look back in Alabama’s 42-13 win over the Tigers.
“His speed is really good,” LSU linebacker Greg Penn III said of Milroe. “You can’t really account for that at practice or in film until you’re really in the game. He’s just a great player…”
Only two minutes and 20 seconds into the game, Milroe rushed through the middle gap to free himself for 39 yards into the endzone.
This set the tone for Bama’s plan of attack. The Tide’s rushing game powered the offense, and Milroe led with 185 yards on the ground.
Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer told ESPN at halftime, “The first touchdown really got him [Milroe] in a rhythm.”
To open the fourth quarter, Milroe proved he wasn’t finished. He ran the ball 72 yards up the sideline and went untouched into the endzone. By this point the Tide’s dominance was escalating, and the LSU fan attendance was declining, as many couldn’t continue watching this brutal Tiger takedown.
With College GameDay in town and famous analysts picking LSU to win, this outcome was not what many expected.
“I was excited about their preparation. They were ready to play, but I take ownership in not getting our guys in the right position tonight,” Kelly said. “We just did not make the best of the opportunities that we had.”
The day was full of festivities from thousands gathering in the quad Saturday morning to hundreds of more thousands screaming in Tiger Stadium, hoping LSU would pull out a comeback. However, the Tide kept crushing the Tigers.
“What we thought would be an exciting evening turned out to be a disappointing evening,” Kelly said.
LSU’s defense made strides to change the narrative in the second half but couldn’t make adjustments. Milroe rushed 19 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter, extending the Tide’s lead to 22.
Along with effective rushing, Milroe had 109 passing yards on 18 attempts.
To cap off the Tide’s scoring, Alabama freshman Richard Young rushed the ball for eight yards into the endzone.
The Tide rotated through two other running backs, Jam Miller and Justice Haynes, who combined for 61 rushing yards.
Coming off a bye, stopping the run was an issue the Tigers needed to address. In the Texas A&M game, LSU was up against quarterback Marcel Reed, who used his legs and became unstoppable against the Tigers defense. Going up against a quarterback with a similar threat, LSU knew what had to be done.
The Tigers had two weeks to prepare for this. Milroe had four quarters to unravel that preparation.
“If you’re watching the game; you’re like, ‘What did these guys do for two weeks?'” Kelly said. “We have a scheme to stop the quarterback. We did not get it done.”
Alongside the defensive struggle against the run, LSU’s offense couldn’t get anything stirring. With only two field goals and one late touchdown to show for their drives, the Tigers lacked offensive production.
In the third quarter, when the Tigers came closest to a touchdown, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw an interception at the goal line.
Nussmeier had 239 passing yards and a 64% completion rate. He threw two interceptions.
In the most important game of the season for the Tigers, Brian Kelly and LSU couldn’t rise to the occasion in their own home. LSU’s SEC championship and College Football Playoff hopes are now gone with two conference losses.
The Tigers will aim to bounce back against Florida in Gainesville on Saturday Nov. 16.
