Alabama Football: Defense makes adjustments once again

Alabama Football Secondary: A-

The Alabama secondary proved it was elite against arguably the nation’s best passing offense.

An early coverage bust left Malachi Moore one-on-one with Malik Nabers, a matchup LSU turned into a 46-yard touchdown to open the scoring. After that, the secondary largely locked down LSU’s vaunted receiving corps. Nabers got his (10 catches for 171 yards), but Brian Thomas Jr. and Kyren Lacy found it difficult to separate from the Bama defensive backs.

After the touchdown toss on LSU’s opening drive, Jayden Daniels did most of his damage on the ground and threw for just 167 more yards for the rest of the game.

Daniels’ 219 passing yards were easily his lowest of the season, and his 62.5 completion percentage and 158.3 passer rating were his lowest since the season opener against Florida State.

Caleb Downs led the Tide once again with 13 tackles, while Terrion Arnold added five stops, two pass deflections, and an interception.

Malachi Moore continues to be the vocal leader of the secondary and was impactful against the run and the pass. Safety Jaylen Key was off to a good start in the game before suffering an injury from which he would not return.

Kristian Story replaced Key on the back end and was serviceable. Story surrendered a touchdown at the end of the first half when he took an unnecessary gamble, but was able to redeem himself with some good coverage in the second half.

Additionally, Trey Amos filled in admirably in the dime, as well as when Arnold had to briefly leave the game with an injury of his own. Amos notched three tackles and proved for the second game in a row that he is reliable when called upon.