Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs where I break down what went right and what went wrong for LSU. This week, it’s the big game between the Tigers and the Tide.
1st Down: New Offense Ineffective Against Alabama
LSU looked reinvigorated offensively with Coach O and Steve Ensminger at the helm with great offensive showings against teams like Mizzou, Southern Miss, and Ole Miss. But they looked like the same team from 2015 with Fournette looking ineffective and Danny Etling being put under pressure all night long. Thankfully, it wasn’t an incredibly one-sided affair like the rest of
2nd Down: Tigers Defense Does Unthinkable
The Alabama Crimson Tide has imposed its will on every team it has faced scoring 43 points a game this season. But when the lights came on inside of Death Valley, the Tigers defense played lights out against Alabama allowing only ten points. The most telling stat in all of this was that for the first time in 126 games, Alabama didn’t score a single point at the half. Was the ending of the game a bad look for this team? Yes, but in a battle against one of the most complete teams in recent memory, shutting them out was a good look for the Tigers going forward.
3rd Down: Missed Opportunity Early
One of the biggest talking points coming out of this game is what happened in the first few minutes of the game. On the third offensive play for Alabama, Jalen Hurts gets picked off by Jamal Adams, giving the ball to LSU with excellent field position. However, the Tigers could not get anything out of it and ended up with a field goal by Delahoussaye being blocked. This could have been the deciding factor and turning the momentum over towards LSU because when Adams intercepted that pass, the crowd of well over 100,000 exploded in cheers. Imagine a touchdown from this team off a turnover. Good luck trying to silence that.
4th Down: How Does Loss Affect Coach O’s Chances?
It doesn’t affect his chances of becoming the head coach, at least to me. It might dip down a little bit, but it won’t completely ruin his chances at being the coach for the Tigers. There aren’t too many teams that can knock Alabama off their perch and LSU took them to the limit. There are some positives to take out of this game unlike what happened last year in Tuscaloosa and it shows that this team can perform well enough defensively to shut down one of the best teams. The offense needs to show up though if Coach O wants to keep the gig.
-Clint Domingue