Although it headed into the game as 14-point underdogs, No. 10 LSU came out as the top dog when it upset No.6 Alabama in a thrilling 32-31 overtime victory. 

LSU’s victory over the Crimson Tide helped push LSU into sole control of the SEC West. The Tigers will need to either win out or win at least one of two games against either Arkansas and Texas A&M and for Ole Miss to lose one more game to clinch the SEC West title to advance to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game.

After Alabama scored first in overtime, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels scored on a 25-yard run on the first play of their possession. Daniels then found tight end Mason Taylor on the two-point conversion to seal the victory for the Tigers and the field was occupied with LSU fans on the field celebrating with their beloved team.

Here are the top performances from Saturday:

Head Coach Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly gets the first game ball. After being the butt of jokes from the start of the season whether it was his “fake accent” or his infamous dancing videos, Kelly has quickly rebuilt the Tigers. The Tigers have gone from barely fielding a roster for last year’s Texas Bowl to controlling its own destiny for the SEC West title after beating two top 10 teams, Ole Miss and Alabama.

However, the biggest reason why Kelly made this list was not because of how quickly he rebuilt LSU, it was because of his gutsy decision to go for two in overtime. Instead of taking the safe route, Kelly chose to trust his players’ abilities to execute and make the game winning play. The two-point conversion also shows us that Kelly will do anything to make sure LSU will play to win championships, not just games.

LSU Defense

LSU’s defense gets the second game ball. The defense was phenomenal once again, slowing down one of the top offenses in college football.

Although they allowed Alabama quarterback Bryce Young to throw for 328 yards, they were frustrating Young all game as he completed only 25 of his 51 passes, which put his completion percentage at a measly 49%.

BJ Ojulari led LSU in tackles with 11. Ojulari also had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Harold Perkins, who played on the opposite side of Olujari, had eight tackles and a sack.

LSU’s defensive backs also played great as a collective unit. Jarrick Bernard-Converse had a said performance on the night with two tackles, two passes deflected and an interception in the end zone when Alabama was threatening to score inside the 10-yard line on its first possession.

Joe Foucha also had a great game as well. Foucha ended the game with eight tackles and a pass deflection.

Jayden Daniels and Mason Taylor

My third game ball goes to both Jayden Daniels and Mason Taylor. They both made big time plays in the clutch, so it was definitely hard to pick one or the other.

Every time Alabama went down the field and scored, Daniels would lead the offense right down the field to respond with a touchdown of their own.

Taylor has been no stranger to making big time plays in big time plays whenever his number is called, whether it was the Florida State game or his awesome performance against Ole Miss. After all his dad, Jason, and his uncle, Zach Thomas, are both former All-Pro NFL players, so no pressure.

Jayden Daniels finished with 182 yards passing and two touchdowns with a completion percentage of 68%. Daniels completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to running back John Emery for the first touchdown of the game for either team.

Daniels would also complete the go-ahead seven-yard touchdown pass to Taylor in a jump ball situation at the end of the end zone before Alabama would ultimately tie the game with a field goal to send the game to overtime.

The fact that Daniels trusted Taylor to make that catch just shows you the amount of potential Taylor has yet to achieve due to his youth.

Daniels also had 96 yards rushing and a touchdown. The LSU coaches called his number on a read option play and he took it 25 yards for a touchdown on the first play. When Kelly decided to go for two, it was decided that the play to win the game was designed for Taylor. Daniels rolled out and threw the ball to an open Taylor who plowed in for the game-winning score.