5 winners and 2 losers as Alabama continues its dominance of LSU in Baton Rouge

Nobody believed in Alabama heading into Baton Rouge. Well, not nobody. But not many people did. LSU was a near-touchdown favorite. A lot of experts believed that Alabama was walking into their funeral in Baton Rouge.

But those experts didn't take into account that Alabama has the home field advantage in Death Valley. Not LSU.

After Saturday afternoon's 31-13 win, Alabama is now 31-10-3 all-time in Baton Rouge. The only dreams that go to die when the Crimson Tide rolls into Tiger Stadium are LSU's. And it happened again.

In a potential College Football Playoff elimination game, it was Alabama who walked out victorious, likely putting a premature end to Lane Kiffin's first season on the Bayou.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the Tide's 18-point win:

Winners:

Keelon Russell

Russell gave Alabama exactly what it needed in Baton Rouge. He avoided the negative plays and turnovers that have plagued him against elite defenses this season. And when it mattered most, he carved up the LSU defense.

Trailing 13-10 late in the third quarter, Russell threw three touchdown passes to key a 21-0 run as the sun set on Death Valley.

He finished the game 17-of-24 for 206 yards and the three touchdown passes. He stood tall and made plays in critical moments in a difficult road environment.

He looked like a different player from the one who was wide-eyed in Knoxville a few weeks ago. The star sophomore QB just keeps getting better and more comfortable, and he has Alabama on the precipice of the College Football Playoff.

Ryan Coleman-Williams

First, a tip of the cap to Ryan Coleman-Williams for even playing in this game. He was clearly less than 100%, but he gutted it out because his team needed him. And he made a couple of critical plays to help Alabama earn this win.

The first was at the goal line, when a well-timed reverse led to an easy rushing touchdown for the junior WR:

His punt return in the fourth quarter may have been the play of the game, however.

Leading 17-13, Alabama forced a 3-and-out for LSU after an Alex Asparuhov punt was downed inside the 10-yard-line. Coleman-Williams got an opportunity in space, and he made the most of it. He weaved in and out of the LSU coverage unit, picking up 32 yards all the way down to the 25-yard-line:

That return set up the touchdown that gave Alabama a two-score lead. On the next offensive play, Russell hit freshman WR Cederian Morgan for a touchdown.

Kane Wommack

You have to give Kane Wommack his flowers after this game. Alabama's bend-but-don't-break style of defense can be frustrating at times, but it worked perfectly against LSU. The Tigers consistently moved the ball between the 20s, racking up 457 empty-calorie yards of offense.

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But when the chips were down, Alabama's defense stood tall, time and time again. Alabama held LSU to just 10 points on four trips to the redzone. That was the difference in the game.

Wommack got the pass rush going again. Alabama sacked Sam Leavitt four times and consistently made him uncomfortable.

There may still be some questions about the viability of this scheme in this league long-term, but for one night, it was more than good enough.

Luke Metz

One of the more underrated big plays of the game was Luke Metz putting a big hit on Leavitt when he took off on a scramble on 3rd-and-5 in the fourth quarter with Alabama clinging to a four-point lead:

It looked like Leavitt had an angle and was going to pick up the first. Metz had other ideas. That forced a 4th-and-3, and Leavitt threw an incomplete pass to put an end to a promising drive and keep the Crimson Tide ahead.

Metz was all over the place for the Tide defensively and led the Crimson Tide with 11 tackles. He also picked off a Leavitt pass late in the second quarter when LSU was putting together a drive to potentially tie the game before the half.

Devan Thompkins

Alabama being healthier up front opened the door for senior DL Devan Thompkins, who had one of his best games of the season. He finished with two sacks, his second multi-sack game of the season.

That included a sack on the 4th-and-10 that Kiffin chose to go for in his own territory with 8 minutes to go and Alabama ahead by 11 points:

That was the final nail for the Tide's defense, with Russell hitting Kaleb Edwards for a touchdown a few plays later to put the finishing touches on the win.

Losers:

Alabama fans who wanted Lane Kiffin as the Tide's head coach

Your mileage may still vary on Kalen DeBoer. He hasn't won anything yet. But he sure took Kiffin to the woodshed, and the LSU head coach once again looked overmatched in a big game. That's been a consistent theme throughout his coaching career, and the most expensive roster in the sport hasn't changed a thing for him.

No coach has gotten more credit for doing less than Kiffin. He's never won anything of note, and he abandoned the best team of his coaching career a year ago just to get to Baton Rouge and already has fans turning on him because they've lost three games.

Kiffin is now 0-6 in his career vs. Alabama, 2-17 vs. AP Top 10 teams, and 17-29 vs. AP Top 25 teams.

He's never been an elite coach.

Alabama's run game

The one negative for Alabama is that the return of Racin Delgatty didn't magically fix a Tide run game that has gone stagnant again. After a promising start with Trae'shawn Brown ripping off a nine-yard run on the first play of the game, it was all downhill from there.

Alabama managed just 79 yards on 29 attempts, a 2.7 yards per carry average. The Crimson Tide managed to get the win regardless, but the run game continues to be a major concern and will be amplified in the College Football Playoff if Alabama can get there.

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