LSU Grades

They didn't see this coming.  

And by "they" I mean the prediction experts on ESPN's College Game Day broadcast. You know the guys....Desmond Howard, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreet.  They all picked LSU to beat Alabama  in the 2015 edition of The Game Of The Century.

Speaking of which, based on Tide vs. Tiger games, we have had so many centuries starting with the 9-6 game in Tuscaloosa in 2011 that mankind has finally gotten around to building a football stadium on Mars.  But I digress.....

Howard, Herbstreet and Corso all had LSU's Heisman-aspiring running back, Leonard Fournette, winning the head-to-head competition with Bama's Derrick Henry. They were certain that Tiger QB Brandon Harris-he without an interception all season-would prove himself better than Jake Coker. They just knew LSU's defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele, would out-scheme Lane Kiffin. And they were confident that Les Miles would catch some lucky break, like lightning in a bottle, that would be a difference maker in a close game.

There was one fellow, however, the statistics geek nick-named "Bear"-who boldly picked the Tide to win and even predicted the score: Tide 28 - Tigers 17. He only got it wrong by three net points. 

The Commissioner also didn't see it coming. Asked by a friend in the South Zone for a pre-game prediction, all I could offer was that if we played like we did in the Georgia game, we could win by 10. It turned out, of course, that we played much better than we did against Georgia, and even though LSU is superior to UGA, the difference between the Tide and Tigers is greater than the 14 point margin of victory.

Weather conditions were comparable to the game in Athens. At times on Saturday, the rain came down in buckets. Close to kick off, however, the rain eased considerably, and for most of the game we only experienced intermittent drizzle. I give credit for the weather conditions to another of our South Zone companions. Having driven him from Nashville to Birmingham through the tornados of April 2011, I can assure you that bad weather is afraid of Larry Childs.    

Do you like your college football arena style? Do you love you some HUNH where defense is an after thought? Do you get a big kick out of plays from the Freedom Middle School playbook where the really short 7th grader hides behind the over-large kid who plays right guard and takes the hand off while the quarterback and everybody else runs in the opposite direction? You do? Well then, you probably had a good time watching the Barn play the Aggies last night while Alabama and LSU played grown-man football.

Make no mistake....this was the most physically dominate performance I have seen from an Alabama team since the beat down of Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game. Consider some of these facts: Alabama controlled the ball on offense for 39:27 including the final 9:18 of the game; Derrick Henry had more carries (39) than Leonard Fournette had net yards rushing (31); Alabama ran the ball 55 times to LSU's 26 attempts and out-gained the Tigers rushing by 250 yards to 54; LSU earned only 8 first downs, Bama earned 14 first downs by rushing alone.

By every measure, this contest deserved the hype of a championship play-in. So here is how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ Alabama ran 79 offensive plays, gained 434 yards of total offense [250 rushing] achieved 28 first downs [14 rushing] and controlled the clock for 39:27.

Derrick Henry [39 rushes for 210  net yards] and Kenyan Drake [10 rushes 68 yards] carried the load for the ground game. Drake had his best game for the season and demonstrated his strength and elusiveness on a 24 yard run where he broke tackles, and put the shake-'n'-bake on LSU defenders before being pushed out of bounds. Henry was simply a beast running the football and scoring each of the Tide's 3 TDs. He now is tied with SEC record holder Tim Tebow for consecutive games scoring a rushing touchdown [14]. On the Tide's final possession of the game, which started at the Alabama 4 yard line, Henry ran the ball 12 times, including 6 plays in a row. Because of a holding penalty, he only gets official credit for 11 of those plays. The only blemish in his performance was a lost fumble following a 4 yard gain early in the 4th quarter setting LSU up in short field position.

Jake was efficient in the passing game, completing 18 of 24 pass attempts for 184 yards. He had no TDs, and was sacked 3 times, but he did not turn the ball over.

Calvin Ridley was the leading receiver with 7 catches for 51 yards. Ardarius Stewart added 47 yards on 3 receptions. Drake [40 yds] and Richard Mullaney [28 yds] each had 3 receptions. O.J. Howard added 2 catches for 18 yards. 

Alabama had 5 drives that gained 40 or more yards [41, 87, 57, 73, 78] that accounted for a turnover on downs, 3 TDs and the end of the game. Only once did the offense have a 3 and out. 

Defense: A+ LSU had been averaging over 300 yards per game rushing.  The Tide held the Tigers to only 54.  Alabama's offense kept Fournette on the bench. The Tide defense made him wish he was back on it.  LSU's offense only gained a total of 182 yards. The Tigers' longest play from scrimmage came on a 3rd and 12 from the LSU 2 yard line. The Defensive substitution was late getting set on the field and when the ball was snapped, we had several players looking around to make sure they were in the proper formation. 

LSU had 11 offensive possessions. Seven ended in a punt. Four of those 7 were three-and-out. The Tigers' first possession of the second half lasted all of one play, when Brandon Harris' sideline pass was intercepted by Dillon Lee [LB; 6-4; 242; Sr.; Buford, GA]. 

Geno Matias-Smith was the leading tackler with 6 tackles [4 solo]. Jarran Reed made 5 stops [1  solo] and Dalvin Tomlinson is credited with 4 tackles [1 solo]. Tide defenders made 7 tackles for lost yardage. A'Shawn Robinson accounted for 2 of those. 

Robinson also blocked a PAT attempt on a play demonstrating freakish athletic ability. The defensive lineman from Fort Worth, TX, is 6-4 and weighs 312 pounds. On LSU's second PAT attempt, he leaped over the long snapper as if executive a standing broad jump and landed like a cat three yards from the holder. The kick never had a chance. Robinson also played offense and blocked for Derrick Henry on short-yardage at the LSU goal line.

The Tide defense accounted for 3 pass breakups, and 5 QB hurries. 

Special Teams:

Place Kicking:  A+ Griff made each of his 3 FG attempts [22, 55, 29] and each of his 3 PATs. His 55 yarder at the end of the first half is Alabama's longest field goal kicked off of grass.

Punting: A+ JK Scott averaged 45 yards on 3 punts. His longest punt travelled 50 yards and he nailed LSU deep once. Cy Jones returned 2 LSU punts for 23 yards.

Kick offs: A+ Griff kicked off 7 times and averaged 64 gross yards per kick. Three of his kicks were touchbacks and the coverage team allowed only 43 yards on 4 returns. Kenyan Drake returned 3 LSU kicks for 55 yards. LSU's last kick of the game appeared to be headed out of bounds and Drake decided to let the ball go. When it took an odd bounce, Drake was fortunate to cover the ball at the Bama 4 yard line.

Coaching: A+ Alabama gained 516 all purpose yards. The participation report lists 50 players who saw action in the game. The Tide was penalized 9 times for 88 yards. That is an unacceptably high number, however, the number of penalty calls against Alabama seem to have increased after the Ole Miss game. Draw whatever conclusion from this observation that you wish.

      

The fact that Alabama dominated LSU in every phase of the game does not diminish LSU. The Tigers are a very fine football team. They are loaded with elite athletes. They are well coached. They play with heart and intensity. Of course that describes Alabama as well. What's more, and perhaps this is the important difference, since losing to Mississippi, Alabama has been on a mission to redeem the season and reclaim the program's perennial place at the apex of the sport. 

Coach Saban answered a reporter's question by saying something to the effect that it is hard to get players to pay attention to him when things are going well.....but when things are not going well, it is easier to get people focused. The Ole Miss loss is still a sore spot for this team and the improvement since then has been nothing short of dramatic.

Arkansas' one point win over Ole Miss in Oxford, puts Alabama in control of its destiny. By winning out, the Tide will face Florida in the SEC Championship Game. A victory over the Gators would assure Alabama a place in the College Football Playoff.  But all of that is in the distant future. The most important game of the season, so far, is coming up this Saturday in Starkville. 

CBS has announced the game will kickoff on national TV at 2:30 p.m. 

Get your game faces on!

Roll Tide, y'all.

The Commissioner