LSU felt the sharp sting of the injury bug in the LSU football team’s 24-15 loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday night.
On the offensive side, sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson sustained an apparent right ankle injury with 8:25 left in the third quarter, and about four minutes later, senior running back Charles Scott left the game with a right collarbone injury. On defense, sophomore cornerback Patrick Peterson suffered cramping issues at three separate junctures.
LSU coach Les Miles said after the game Scott’s injury “certainly is probably the most serious.” The LSU Athletic Department announced Sunday that Scott is out for the season with a collarbone fracture. Jefferson left the game after being called for an intentional grounding penalty with Alabama leading, 10-7, but later said he wanted to return to the game.
“It’s probably a low-ankle sprain because I can move it around a little bit,” Jefferson said. “I thought I would be able to [come back in the game], but I really couldn’t drop back to pass.”
Before the injury, Jefferson completed 10-of-17 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, including a 12-yard scoring pass to sophomore tight end Deangelo Peterson in the second quarter.Miles said Jefferson was performing well against Alabama but he would not elaborate on the extent of Jefferson’s injury.”Not serious is all I can tell you,” Miles said. “He was trying to get back in the game, but we felt it would be best that he sit. I like everything about that quarterback, and I still like our chances, injuries or not.” Scott finished with his third-highest rushing output of the season — 83 yards on 13 carries — including a 34-yard run to the Alabama 15-yard line that turned out to be his final play as a Tiger.
Two plays later, sophomore running back Stevan Ridley scored his second touchdown in as many games to give LSU the lead again, 15-10. Junior wide receiver Terrance Toliver said losing two big offensive playmakers to injury sliced a dagger in LSU’s game plan.”We rely on leadership from those two guys,” Toliver said. “It was a letdown to lose both of them … Stevan Ridley came in and scored a big touchdown, but we just didn’t finish.”
Sophomore Jarrett Lee entered the game in relief of Jefferson and having attempted only eight passes all season. Lee said he was prepared to take the reins in such a pivotal Southeastern Conference game.”It’s part of football to bounce back,” said Lee, who finished 4-for-10 for 44 yards and one interception with 2:04 to play. “I got warmed up and knew I had to come in … I could have done better and had some better reads. It’s unfortunate it had to happen because [Jefferson] was playing a good ball game.” Jefferson said it was disheartening for him to watch the game unfold from the sideline, but he said he will be back to the field next week.
“It was devastating watching your team fight as hard as they can to put points on the board, and I’m not able to help them,” Jefferson said. “I’ll get myself healthy at the beginning of the week and be at practice in the middle of the week and be ready to play.”
Patrick Peterson was a victim of more than just cramps Saturday. What appeared to be an interception that would have put LSU near its own 30-yard line down 21-15 was ruled an incomplete pass after an instant replay review. “I caught the ball, and I got two feet down, definitely,” Peterson said.
Miles said the hardest part of dealing with the call was what to tell Peterson afterward. “My view from the sidelines, it looked like an interception,” Miles said. “Speculation is rampant … Certainly in a one-possession game, it would be a great position to be in.”