Death Valley roared as Alabama took the snap on third-and-goal in overtime.
Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young handed the ball off to Roydell Williams for an inside run up the middle into the end zone, and the stakes drastically rose as LSU would need to score on its first overtime drive.
Could Jayden Daniels, in his first matchup against Alabama, deliver the equalizer and then the win? The short answer was yes and yes.
Sticking to his bread and butter, Daniels kept the ball and ran for a 25-yard touchdown, beating out four defenders. The score was 31-30, and kicking a PAT to go into double overtime was never a consideration for the Tigers. Head coach Brian Kelly had faith in his offense and took the risk to go for two.
“From my perspective, it’s really about a gut feeling at the time more so than what’s the perfect scenario,” Kelly said in a press conference on Monday. “I think the feeling was we were executing at a high level at that time. It was time to go for it.”
All fans were on their feet with fingers crossed when freshman tight end Mason Taylor caught the game-winning pass from Daniels.
The saying “the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward” came true for LSU.
The memories of brutal losses to Tennessee and Florida State were wiped from fans’ minds as they stormed the field in celebration and ultimate shock.
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Defeating Alabama was a defining moment in the Tigers’ long haul for the SEC West title and SEC Championship appearance.
When these two teams meet, it’s anyone’s game, but can history repeat itself two years in a row for an LSU upset?
In 2022, No. 6 and 7-1 Alabama was favored by 13.5 points over No. 10 and 6-2 LSU. Now, No. 8 and 7-1 Alabama is favored by three points over No. 13 and 6-2 LSU.
But the similarities don’t end there.
In back-to-back season openers, LSU lost to Florida State, and many predicted this loss to be its only before facing Alabama. However, the challenges of playing in the SEC surfaced. In 2022, it was a 40-13 massacre from Tennessee and this year a close Ole Miss win handed the Tigers their second loss.
For two years in a row, schools named UT seem to be Alabama’s Achilles’ heel, giving the Crimson Tide one loss before the LSU game. In 2022, Tennessee won off a go-ahead field goal in the final two seconds. This season, Texas beat Alabama 34-24 in Week 2.
Like last season, Saturday’s matchup greatly impacts the tune of the rest of each team’s season. The winning team will continue its battle toward the SEC Championship game and aim to win out.
LSU would likely reach the top 10 with a win over Alabama, similar to how it jumped from No. 10 to No. 7 in this time frame last year.
While this rivalry’s importance is the same every year and this matchup’s conditions feel identical to 2022, these two teams are very different now.
The Tigers’ offense is superior to last season. LSU is ranked No. 1 in Division I for total offense, averaging 8.1 yards per play. It already has 4,423 offensive yards compared to only 6,344 total for 2022. Because of LSU’s flaws on defense early this season, the offense has had to carry this team.
Daniels has increased his accuracy and confidence on offense since last season’s constant scrambles in the pocket. This Heisman-contending Daniels has 25 touchdowns and over 2,500 passing yards.
In 2023, the Crimson Tide defense has improved in talent and overall performance. It ranks in the top 20 for total defense, defensive touchdowns and team tackles for loss. This high-powered defense is going to be gunning for LSU’s offense.
Alabama’s defense had breakout games against Mississippi State and Tennessee. Two defenders had over 10 tackles each, and the defense combined for eight tackles for loss, four pass breakups and four sacks against the Volunteers.
On the other hand, the LSU defense lost big names in the offseason and has not yet reached the level it was with BJ Ojulari, Jay Ward, Micah Baskerville and Mekhi Garner.
While the Tigers’ defense was slowly improving after the Ole Miss loss, injuries sidelined two top defenders: Zy Alexander and Mekhi Wingo. This setback will affect the Tigers in their biggest game, and freshmen will have to step up. Luckily for them, the Bama offense has declined since 2022.
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It’s hard to replace a quarterback like Bryce Young, and Alabama lost many talented wide receivers in the draft. New starting quarterback Jalen Milroe and the rest of the offense had a rocky start this season.
The offense took many weeks to find its identity after Milroe was benched in Week 3 and then reinserted as the starter. The offensive line is not what it used to be, and the front seven have had major struggles with many missteps.
There’s one huge difference that shouldn’t be taken lightly: the location of this game.
The 32-31 win was largely due to the Death Valley atmosphere. Playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium will give the Crimson Tide that same leg up.
It was anybody’s game last season, and that remains true, no matter the similarities and differences to the Tigers’ one-point win, on Saturday it’s about whether LSU can fire on all cylinders for 60 minutes.
