In Frank Wilson’s debut as the interim head coach for LSU, the Tigers had an inspired effort from Blake Baker’s defense. However, it was mistakes, penalties, and other critical errors that prevented the Tigers from pulling out an upset as LSU drops their fourth game of the season 20-9 to the Crimson Tide.
“I thought we played hard. I thought we competed throughout the duration of the game. At the end of it, our best was not good enough tonight. We finished 2nd, but I thought there were some good things that happened and there are things that we need to continue to improve upon that we have to score touchdowns and not just field goals. We need to take better care of the ball. Three fumbles on the ground and two picked up by the opponent. That was the difference maker for us.”
LSU interim HC Frank Wilson
Heisman Trophy candidate Ty Simpson was only held to 21/35 for 277 yards and one touchdown, but the Alabama offense was able to take a 17-3 advantage in the first half and was able to be in cruise control in the second half.
Alabama got two touchdowns in the first half coming on a four-yard touchdown run from Daniel Hill and a 13-yard touchdown pass from Simpson to Ryan Williams.
The defense kept LSU in the football game by only giving up a late field goal in the second half for the only scoring from Alabama in the final 30 minutes. The Tigers defense also had a fourth down stop on the first possession of the game along with a fumble forced and recovered by Harold Perkins Jr. in the fourth quarter.
“I thought our defense played extremely well. You take away some of those big plays we gave up. They did get behind us a couple of times, but I thought Blake Baker and his defensive staff did an outstanding job game planning and they gave us opportunities to be able to compete. They didn’t rush the ball extremely well and we contested passes. Eventually, we started to knock their quarterback off his mark, which was advantageous for us.”
LSU interim HC Frank Wilson
As good as the defense played, the offense just could not get out of their own way. Although LSU had four red zone trips, the offense could only muster three Damian Ramos’ field goals and a fourth field goal attempt that hooked left.
Mismanagement of the play clock, fumbles, and dropped passes were issues the entire night while the number of penalties really told the story with LSU committing 10 penalties to Alabama’s two.
Scoring only three points in the first half, LSU made a change at the quarterback position benching Garrett Nussmeier, who finished the game completing 18/21 passes for 121 yards. Michael Van Buren Jr. entered the game early in the second half and finished completing 5/11 passes for 52 yards.
“As we discuss as a staff, we knew there could be opportunities in the quarterback run game, and in the backend, we tried to bring closure to it. They were going to make it difficult for us to sit in the pocket and so, we wanted to move Michael around and move the pocket. We thought he could give us a chance of doing those things so that played in the thought of putting him in.”
LSU interim HC Frank Wilson
While it was not the sharpest game for Alabama’s offense, the Crimson Tide did just enough by not making mistakes while its defense controlled the game giving up just 13 first downs and 232 total yards of offense and also shutting LSU out of the end zone for the first time since the 2011 National Championship game.
Alabama keeps its SEC and College Football National Championship hopes alive and well improving to 8-1 on the season and most importantly, 6-0 in SEC play with Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois, and Auburn left on the schedule.
Meanwhile, LSU, which started off to a 4-0 start and a number three ranking, has its season derailed losing four of its last five games. It was not quite the first audition that Coach Wilson had in mind for his first game of his interim tenure, but he has three other games to show with Arkansas, Western Kentucky, and Oklahoma left on the schedule to play. With the season coming to a close, there are still a lot of questions about the LSU team moving forward including the head coach and also who will be the starting quarterback next week against the Razorbacks.
“I told the team to pick their heads up. They fought. They competed. There is no moral victory, but there is a lot to be said how we played the game. I know we have a team that has a lot of fight in them. We play a dangerous Arkansas team next week. We put this tape to bed and build on the things we did defensively, offensively, and special teams. We will try to take advantage of it.”
LSU interim HC Frank Wilson
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