A game billed as a clash of the titans turned into an old fashioned beatdown as No. 4 Alabama pounded No. 2 LSU 30-16 on Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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Things started positive for No. 4 Alabama before it even stepped on the field to face No. 2 LSU.
Despite Alabama’s dominant win over LSU on Saturday, Chris Fallica still considers Leonard Fournette the Heisman Trophy frontrunner. “We’ve got to play a better game next Saturday than we did (Thursday)”.
The Tigers are now 9-0 and Dabo Swinney showed off a new dance for his team in the locker room to celebrate. “They held it to themselves, the guys up front, ‘we’re not going to let him do this'”.
The focused attitude worked. He was 1-3 last week but fell back after being held to 31 yards on 19 carries in LSU’s 30-16 loss to Alabama. He was fourth on the New York Times’ Heisman watch list behind the aforementioned Fournette and Boykin, as well as Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman, despite entering the LSU game with more than 800 yards on the ground.
LSU quarterback Brandon Harris threw for 128 yards and one touchdown against one interception, and added 20 yards.
In one of his worst performances of the season, Harris completed just 6 of his 19 pass attempts. “So, when they ran it again in the second half, I just turned and ran as fast as I could to get underneath the throw”.
He gained 210 yards on 38 carries and scored three touchdowns against a defense that came into the game second in the SEC against the run allowing 93.7 yards.
Alabama’s riding a six-game winning streak that has already included lopsided road wins over teams ranked in the Top 10 at the time, Georgia and Texas A&M.
James Washington caught five passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys.
Fournette finally broke an 18-yard run late in the game after defensive end Arden Key recovered a fumble by Alabama tailback Derrick Henry at the Alabama 22-yard line. Oklahoma State visits Iowa State next week and then the remaining Big 12 contenders, Baylor and Oklahoma, will have to deal with quarterback Mason Rudolph and star defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah in Stillwater.
A second loss, and figure Alabama is out of the title chase.
Senior linebacker Reggie Ragland leads Alabama’s defense and has become a coveted prospect this season. LSU would respond with a touchdown and a field goal of their own to tie things up.
Alabama kicker Adam Griffith hit a 22-yard FG.
The Florida Gators (Coaches Poll: 10, AP Top 25: 11) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (Coaches Poll: 20, AP Top 25: 20) were the other SEC teams to crack the Top 25 in the polls.
“I can’t say enough about Derrick Henry. This football team will put itself in a position to play another game of significance”.
“Y’all will never see coach smile or happy like that unless something good happens on the field”, Ragland said Monday. I’m not saying I told you so, but betting against Nick Saban in a big time game with so much riding on the line is like committing football suicide.
Pictures of the sign, which was reportedly hung at an off-campus condo in Tuscaloosa and said “Finish what Katrina started” and included the script “A” Alabama logo, began circulating on Friday. It’s hard to imagine that anyone will take Clemson’s spot this week, since the No. 1 team remains undefeated after beating a ranked team, and the No. 2 ranked team suffered their first loss. The JT Barretless Buckeyes had to grind their way to a 28-14 win over Minnesota and Tommy Armstrong Jr. So if State were to beat Ole Miss, a win over a 4 loss or possible 5 loss team wouldn’t be all that impressive.
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Long, the Arkansas athletic director and the playoff group’s chair’s, got the juices flowing in the great debate that fuels college football’s annual beauty contest last Tuesday when their initial rankings were favorable to a pair of traditional heavyweights in Alabama and Notre Dame.
