It was a familiar story just most other trips to Tuscaloosa…the LSU Tigers played the Crimson Tide in their house and came away with a loss to Nick Saban and company. The Tigers needed a win to keep their SEC West championship hopes alive for another week, but those dreams were dashed as the Tide put up over 500 total yards of offense.
LSU QB Jayden Daniels left the game in the 2nd half with an injury to his head and didn’t return as the Tiger were only able to score seven points after halftime. It also was a split image on offense as Alabama QB Jalen Milroe did his best Daniels impression and rushed for four touchdowns in the game.
Nick Saban now claims his 13th win over the Tigers and 5th win in Tuscaloosa over LSU in the last six meetings there. LSU head coach Brian Kelly will have some questions to answer as his QB could be out next week due to injury, and his defense showed the same inabilities we saw in previous SEC matchups.
In this week’s good, bad and ugly we’ll look at the highlights and the lowlights in the Tigers 42-28 loss to the Crimson Tide.
GOOD:
Malik Nabers:
There was no question which player was the Tigers best offensive weapon on the field and that was LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers. He went into the game leading the country in receiving yards and padded his numbers finishing with 171 yards and a touchdown.
There’s no question who’s been the best WR in college football this season and Nabers continues to make his case each week. Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr may still steal the award from him, but numbers don’t lie, Malik Nabers became the second LSU wide receiver in program history with back to back seasons of over 1,000 yards receiving.
Jayden Daniels:
The LSU QB did all he could do in the 1st half to keep the Tigers within distance of Alabama. He finished the game with 219 yards passing and two touchdowns, but his legs were the star of the night.
Daniels rushed for 163 yards with one touchdown and kept multiple drives going in the 1st half as the Tigers and Tide exchanged back and forth scores before halftime. That totaled 301 yard and three touchdowns going into the locker room at halftime.
It all ended on what was called a “legal” hit from Bama linebacker Dallas Turner. Jayden Daniels left the game and never returned after receiving a concussion on the play. This hit not only took LSU out of the game, but may put doubt on Daniels’ availability next week against the Florida Gators.
BAD:
LSU Run Defense:
The Tigers defense of old returned to the field; they were gashed for 288 yards rushing. Milroe was able to run anytime he wanted to continuously pick up first downs and put points on the scoreboard.
We know now that what we saw from the LSU defense against Auburn and Army was a mirage as both of their offenses were inept. Alabama, who’s struggled offensively themselves, had too many talented playmakers and that was the difference-maker in the ballgame. In all three of the Tigers losses, they’ve given up at least 42 points to their opponent.
The loss of Mehki Wingo on the LSU defensive line left LSU with limited pressure in the backfield. Zy Alexander was also absent from the game, and despite that, I thought the LSU secondary held up fairly well all things considered.
LSU Running Backs:
The LSU backfield has become musical chairs at this point. Logan Diggs looked to be the main carrier, but he has taken a step back in recent games. Diggs finished with 24 yards rushing on eight carries and was pretty inefficient the entire game.
His counter-partners Josh Williams and John Emery were no different. Williams added a rushing touchdown from inside the 3 yard line, but that was about the highlight of the night from the LSU backs.
If Daniels in unavailable next week, LSU will need to either become very pass heavy or find a back that can create some offense vs the Gators.
Ugly:
Officiating:
It wouldn’t be an Alabama-LSU game if fans weren’t upset with the officials. Daniels was clearly knocked out of the game on a helmet to the face hit, which was deemed legal, yet no infraction was called.
The officials also missed a clear horse collar tackle on Daniels earlier in the game, but just happen to throw the flag on linebacker Harold Perkins when he made a tackle on Milroe on a critical 3rd down play.
We’ve seen this many times before in the LSU-Alabama series where it seems the Tide gets the calls late in the game. By now Tiger fans are accustomed the blatant favoritism given to Bama by officials.m, but it doesn’t make it fair or easy to swallow.
Up next for LSU, they return home to face the Florida Gators who are in desperate need of a win after falling to Arkansas . The Tigers will focus on getting the most wins the rest of the season to make the best possible bowl game come December-January.