Marquis Maze lined up in the wildcat formation. When the ball was snapped, everyone on the play thought it as a run. The guy that didn’t need to be fooled was outside LB Karnell Hatcher. He steps up to stop the run. Michael Williams ran open and the perfect play call was set up perfectly in a game where every play counted. Eric Reid was in man to man coverage with Brandon Gibson. He pulled off of his man when he saw the ball thrown to a wide open Williams. Maze put a little too much air under the pass. Williams went up and got both hands on the ball. As he was falling, Eric Reid went up and got his hand in between Williams and the ball. As Williams was falling Reid dislodged the ball from his hand and took control of the ball from Williams.
Interception! LSU ball on the 1 yard line.
This was just one of MANY big plays made defensively in this game.
On Saturday night, an epic defensive struggle took place in Tuscaloosa as #1 LSU goes into Bryant-Denny and defeats the #2 Alabama 9-6.
A lot of us writers and experts picked this high scoring game, expected trick plays from Les, and a decisive win for one of the teams. It just didn’t go down that way. Alabama’s defense played a wonderful football game. They allowed 239 yards on 58 offensive plays. LSU struggled to move the ball all night long. Alabama was getting pressure on Lee as well as Jefferson all night long. They also forced 2 turnovers on a team that only had 3 all year long. Jarrett Lee was reverted back to his old ways throwing interceptions with reckless abandon. Each one was into double coverage with either Lester or Barron. He couldn’t stand back there long enough to scan over the defense because Alabama was getting all the pressure they wanted on him. LSU was equally impressive on defense. They held one of the best backs in the country to under 100 yards rushing. They gave up 295 total yards on 60 plays and forced turnovers in crucial situations; none bigger than that Eric Reid interception.
But the defense is not the only facet of this game that decided this game.
Alabama was only 2-6 on FG opportunities. Cade Foster missed from 44, 50, and 52. Shelley had one blocked from 49 yards. But you can’t blame the game on this and this alone. Alabama did leave 12 points on the field. But you have to give LSU’s defense credit. When Alabama got into LSU territory, they tightened up tremendously. When LSU felt the fire behind them, they knuckled down and didn’t let Alabama get started any further up field. They gave up a big play to Trent on a leak out pass to Trent Richardson in the 2nd quarter. He broke 2 tackles and got down to the 20 yard line. They didn’t let Alabama get any more yards and forced a FG. After the 2nd interception Jared Lee threw, they tightened up and only gave up the three points. After a big run by Trent Richardson, Alabama had the perfect play dialed up. But the play by Eric Reid saved the game. If Williams catches that ball, it is NO doubt in my mind Alabama scores a TD and wins that game. Also if you watch that play over, you will see that Barkevious Mingo was bearing down hard on Maze so he had to throw that ball. If he didn’t, it would have been a big loss on the play. When it mattered, LSU stepped up and made the plays. So to blame the kicker is ridiculous and all you “fans” should be ashamed of yourselves. LSU also did a great job of keeping Richardson in check for most of the game. He had his flashes of brilliance in which you can expect from him. But as far as deciding the game, he didn’t have that kind of impact on the game. In OT he did not make the plays that he should have made. He dropped a screen pass in OT. He also missed a perfectly thrown ball by AJ McCarron. It was thrown and dropped right between his hands. Trent Richardson has to make those plays in order Alabama to beat the #1 team in the country.
AJ McCarron wasn’t that bad, but his decision making wasn’t the best. He rarely came off his first read and LSU capitalized on this when McCarron stared down his TE Smelley and Claiborne intercepted his pass to set LSU up for a field goal. The sack that he took in OT was the worst because he just laid down. He didn’t fight to throw the ball out of bounds, get rid of it, or anything. It was also very disappointing that Nick Saban didn’t try to move the ball on LSU with 1:25 seconds left on the clock. You never know what’s going to happen if you don’t try. I thought it was a tribute to just how much faith Nick Saban has in McCarron. He doesn’t trust him to make clutch plays at the end of the game.
Nick Saban was out coached this game as well. There is no reason that Maze should have been in the game to field that punt. Is an injured Maze better than the other kids on the team? Did Saban not trust anyone else on special teams to field the punt? This cost Alabama 30 yards. Going into overtime with Maze, Jones, and Kirkpatrick hurt? Going into OT with a QB that you do not have faith in? Thin at WR? With NO clear cut advantage? Saban should have taken his chances at the end of that game. No question. Most fans knew it was over at that point. Not going for it on 4th after the second missed FG? That would have been the smarter move. Also in overtime, Saban elected to throw the ball 3 straight times. GIVE THE BALL TO RICHARDSON! He is your Heisman candidate, let him win this game! WHY DO YOU THROW IT ON 3 STRAIGHT PLAYS???? I think this was the wrong time. Everyone thought that Les Miles was going to be the one that pulled the tricks out the bag. I think it was an excellent strategy to stay conservative. It kept them on their heels the entire game. They didn’t know what was coming. Adding Jordan Jefferson into the mix was genius. The option forced Alabama defense into a spot that it wasn’t used to being in. Thinking. They had to think about what they were going to do, causing them to play just a bit slower than they are used to playing, and this gave LSU just the opening they needed to make plays.
I think that LSU was the better team that night and had the better team overall. It showed that they were better prepared for the big game situations. When it came down to it, LSU just made more plays when it counted. Follow me on Twitter, @4thandInchesMag!!!! Stay tuned!
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