Crimson Conclusions: Alabama vs LSU
Alabama vs LSU ended with the Tide on top, but what does it mean for Alabama football moving forward?
Saturday night the fourth ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (8-1) took the driver’s seat in the SEC West race with a dominant performance over the second ranked LSU Tigers (7-1) 30-16 in front of more than 100,000 fans in the jam packed Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide were led by a suffocating defense and a powerful running game. Derrick Henry made his presence known in the now wide open Heisman race by rushing for more than 200 yards and 3 TDs while the Alabama defense held Heisman front runner Leonard Fournette to just 31 yards on 19 carries in the game.
Defense Dominates
Coming into the game LSU running back Leonard Fournette got all the press and the Alabama defense seemed to take that personal. The Tide defense held Fournette to just 31 yards in the entire game and the All American averaged less than two yards per carry. All night long the Alabama defensive line whipped LSU’s offensive line and never let Fournette get going. A’Shawn Robinson had a hell of a game constantly blowing up plays before they got started. Even when he didn’t make the tackle he was forcing Fournette to either bounce it outside or try to pick another whole where another defender was waiting. The defensive linemen were incredibly disciplined in holding their gaps and not allowing Fournette to find any holes. Robinson led the way but others like Dillon Lee, Reggie Ragland, and Jarran Reed were huge in the game. Lee had easily the best game of his Alabama career recording a sack, a tackle for loss, an interception, and three tackles. The defense did have a few mistakes in the game which allowed a couple of deep throws in the game, which were really LSU’s only bit of offensive production. QB Brandon Harris completed just six passes in the entire game and threw his first interception of the game. He constantly had a defender in his face when he was passing and he didn’t have the fortune of a running game hitting on all cylinders like he usually does. The Alabama defense held LSU to just 182 total yards in the game for an average of 4.0 yards per play.
Henry Makes Statement
With all the attention on Fournette, it was Alabama’s top back that stole the headlines. Derrick Henry carried the ball a career high 38 times and ran for more than 200 yards for the second time this season along with three touchdowns. The Alabama offense leaned on Henry and he answered every time. He did have one big mistake in the second half, losing his second fumble of the year, but he responded after that by closing out the game with 12 carries on Alabama’s last drive to seal the game, running more than nine minutes off the clock in a breathtaking drive. The Alabama offensive line had clearly worn the LSU defense out to the point where they had no answer for Henry who was running all over the defense at that point. Henry gained more than 70 yards on the drive. A new Heisman frontrunner has emerged in the “Deuce” himself.
Griffith Hitting His Stride
Alabama kicker Adam Griffith has taken his fair share of lumps from the Alabama fan base, me included, and it has been well deserved at times, but Griffith is unquestionably on a roll right now. He made all three of his field goal attempts tonight including a career high 55-yard field goal that had some leg to spare on it at the end of the first half. Nick Saban clearly has regained his confidence in Griffith and Griffith seems to have gained his confidence back.
Drake Steps Up
Kenyan Drake had by far his best game of the year running for 68 yards on the ground and 40 yards through the air. Drake was running hard, hitting the hole fast, and was elusive all night long. He provided a wonderful change of pace to Henry’s bruising style and the LSU defense didn’t seem to know how to handle him. Drake also laid a few Henry like licks on defenders during the game. He was a bit dinged up in the fourth quarter and it will be interesting to see how that affects him going forward, but if Drake can continue it adds another element to the Alabama offense that defenses will have to plan for instead of just keying on Henry.
Next: LSU Fans Are Still Obsessed With Nick Saban
FINAL STATS
PASSING
Jake Coker: 18/24, 184 yards
RUSHING
Derrick Henry: 38 carries, 210 yards, 3 TD
Kenyan Drake: 10 carries, 68 yards; 3 catches, 40 yards
RECEIVING
Calvin Ridley: 7 catches, 51 yards
ArDarius Stewart: 3 catches, 47 yards
Richard Mullaney: 3 catches, 28 yards
OJ Howard: 2 catches, 18 yards
DEFENSE
Geno Matias-Smith 6 TKL, 0.5 TFL
Jarran Reed: 5 TKL, 1 QBH
Dalvin Tomlinson: 4 TKL, 0.5 TFL
A’Shawn Robinson: 3 TKL, 2.0 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 blocked PAT
Dillon Lee: 3 TKL, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 INT
Reggie Ragland: 3 TKL, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 0.5 sack
Minkah Fitzpatrick: 2 TKL
Eddie Jackson: 2 TKL, 1.0 TFL
Ryan Anderson: 2 TKL, 0.5 TFL
Denzel Devall: 2 TKL
Marlon Humphrey: 1 TKL
Tony Brown: 1 TKL
Michael Nysewander: 1 TKL
Cyrus Jones: 1 TKL
Reuben Foster: TKL
Shaun Dion-Hamilton: 1 TKL
Cole Mazza: 1 TKL
DJ Pettway: 1 TKL
Jonathan Allen: 1 TKL, 0.5 TFL, 2 QBH
Tim Williams: 1 TKL, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, 1 QBH
Rashaan Evans: 1 QBH
Ronnie Harrison: 1 PBU
SPECIAL TEAMS
Adam Griffith: 3/3 FGs, 3/3 XPs
JK Scott: 3 punts, 45.0 YPP, Long: 50 yards
Kenyan Drake: 3 KOR, 55 yards
Cyrus Jones: 2 PR, 23 yards
Next week the Tide travels to meet SEC West rival Mississippi State, lets hope the Tide is as impressive as they were for Alabama vs LSU.