Under interim head coach Frank Wilson, LSU football travelled to Alabama to face the No. 4 Crimson Tide with the goal of upsetting a team that has been flawless since Week 2 of the 2025 season.
The Tide would go on to defeat the Tigers 20-9 in a penalty-ridden, momentumless disappointment for LSU.
The story became clear midway through the second quarter after a 13-yard Ryan Williams touchdown reception put LSU down 17-3.
Here are the three takeaways from LSU’s haunting night in Tuscaloosa.
Offense allergic to the end zone
The Tigers, in a trend that’s followed them all year, struggled in the red zone and only managed to put up nine total points against the Tide despite making three trips to Alabama’s 20-yard line.
When they weren’t kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns, the Tigers’ drives were ending deep in their own territory; six times, their offensive drives ended inside their own 30-yard line, and they made it past their own 41 before punting it away only once.
When it wasn’t procedural penalties, it was incompletions, turnovers and injuries.
While the Tigers were only charged with two drops, the reality was much worse. The Tigers lost a total of 11 opportunities to get the ball downfield. Late in the game, a wide-open Trey’Dez Green dropped a ball with nothing but green grass in front of him, which eventually would seal the game.
They also lost two fumbles, once in the first and once in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter, it was a Bauer Sharp fumble after catching what would have been a first down to extend the drive, and in the fourth, it was backup quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr., trying to extend the play that would hammer the final nail in the coffin for LSU.
Wide receivers Nic Anderson and Kyle Parker also left the game with injuries, leaving both Nussmeier and Van Buren without two of their most versatile targets on the field.
The o-line is the thorn in LSU’s side
LSU had seven offensive penalties, six of them on its offensive line unit.
Many knew at the beginning of the year just how “youthful,” as Wilson put it, this offensive line unit was.
But after a 17-10 victory over Clemson in Week 1 against a good defensive front, the noise around those issues seemed to quiet. The same went for when the Tigers beat Florida just 20-10 despite a five-interception effort by the defense.
Ever since, that group of five has been riddled with injuries, penalties and inefficiency.
The Tigers’ offensive line, coached by Brad Davis, has been the biggest source of ire for this LSU offense, and it was on full display against Alabama.
Against the Tide, three of those seven penalties came inside the Alabama 30-yard line, twice forcing the Tigers to kick a field goal after making big third-down conversions that initially seemed so promising.
“I think it’s a lack of consistency,” center Braelin Moore said. “There are plays that we hit just like we saw in the first quarter. We hit a 50-something yard run with Harlem [Berry], and then we missed assignments, and we have TFLs [tackles for loss] and offside penalties.”
Defense continues to expose weaknesses
While the LSU defense kept this game alive with huge fourth-down stops, forcing field goals and turnovers on downs, it got beaten on chunk plays one too many times.
Well into the fourth quarter, the game was within reach with LSU piling on a couple of field goals to make it 17-9. It was too little, too late, as a highly touted defense in coverage was no match for Alabama QB Ty Simpson on several drives that turned into points for the Tide.
Alabama had eight big plays, six of them more than 20 yards and all passes by Simpson.
Senior linebacker West Weeks summed it all up in one statement.
“It’s just good plays by them and us not doing our jobs,” Weeks said. “At the end of the day, football comes down to a few plays, and they made those plays when we didn’t.”
The Tigers left with their third consecutive loss, holding a 5-4 record.
On Saturday, they’ll face Arkansas, a team that is in an equally tough spot without a head coach, as Sam Pittman was let go by the Razorbacks earlier this year.
“You know, I haven’t put that kind of thought in it right now, right now. I just want to be there for our players, to let them know we’re going to be all right, to pick their heads up,” Wilson said.
