Alabama fans go wild for Deontae Lawson over season-saving play vs. South Carolina

Alabama needed a savior on Saturday, and Deontae Lawson stepped up. After Ty Simpson led the Crimson Tide down the field to tie the game at 22 in the fourth quarter, the redshirt senior linebacker stripped South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers with 1:39 left in the game to give Simpson and the offense the ball back with a chance to win the game. 

Germie Bernard ultimately sealed the 29-22 win for the No. 4 team in the country, heading into a bye week, but Lawson is the hero, and Alabama fans on social media are treating him like one. 

Deontae Lawson saves Kalen DeBoer from another upset loss

Through his first season and a half in Tuscaloosa, Kalen DeBoer hasn’t had much trouble with the big games. He’s 2-0 against Georgia and, through the four weeks, led the Tide to four-straight wins against ranked SEC opponents without a bye week, the first team to ever accomplish that feat. Yet, he has four losses to unranked opponents, as many as Nick Saban recorded over his 14 years at the helm. 

DeBoer lost to another unranked foe in Week 1, and as Florida State continues to sink to the depths of the ACC, Alabama’s margin for error continues to erode. One bad loss like that won’t keep the Crimson Tide out of the 12-team CFP. They may have gotten in during the four-team era. However, another loss to a team well outside of the CFP picture would have put Alabama on the ropes. 

All of those concerns were wiped away in one rip of the football. As Tim Keenan III wrestled the 6-foot-4, 240-pound QB to the ground, Lawson dug and pulled it free before Sellers hit the ground. 

Lawson has been up and down this season. In Week 1, he returned from a season-ending knee injury, which he suffered in Alabama’s loss to Oklahoma last season, but he hasn’t always looked like the All-SEC caliber player that he’s been for much of his career. 

Slowly, Lawson is returning to form, which is a big reason that Alabama’s run defense has improved in recent weeks. Now, if he continues to play better, and the Tide continues to win, this game could be remembered as a legendary moment for Lawson, DeBoer, and the Crimson Tide program.