With 15 minutes remaining in Saturday night’s Alabama-LSU defensive slugfest in Baton Rouge, the scoreboard reflected a 0-0 deadlock.
Were members of the top-ranked Crimson Tide getting nervous?
“No, because it’s the fourth quarter, and that’s when we dominate,” senior defensive end Jonathan Allen told reporters afterward. “That’s what we’re built on.”
Alabama became more and more dominant throughout its 10-0 win over the Tigers, collecting 104 yards in the fourth quarter while holding the hosts to 15. LSU managed one first down and just 25 yards in the entire second half.
Its latest victory will never be confused for a beauty pageant, but Alabama now has a six-game winning streak over LSU to go with 10-game winning streaks achieved last month against Arkansas and Tennessee. The Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) will look to defeat Mississippi State (4-5, 2-3) for a ninth straight time this coming weekend, opening Sunday as 29-point favorites.
“I’m awful proud of the way our team competed in this game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said in his postgame news conference. “We knew it would be a tough game. You can talk about winning ugly, and maybe it wasn’t always pretty because we didn’t always execute the way we would like, but you’ve got to give LSU credit. Their team is playing well right now.
“I can’t say enough about how many critical stops we got in this game. This game is all about competitive character and perseverance.”
There was plenty of offensive carnage throughout the evening as the defenses for Alabama and LSU (5-3, 3-2) combined for 21 lost-yardage stops. The Tide got going offensively late in the third quarter and carried it into the fourth, when freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed nine times for 70 yards.
“Our offense had a hard time getting going, but our defense backed us up the whole game,” Tide senior tight end O.J. Howard said. “That was a great defense we played. They watch film like we do, and they were ready for us.”
Alabama was certainly ready for LSU running back Leonard Fournette for a third consecutive occasion, holding the Heisman Trophy hopeful to 35 yards on 17 carries. Fournette was the Heisman favorite heading into last year’s 30-16 loss in Tuscaloosa, where he was limited to 31 yards on 19 carries, and his three-year tally against the Tide is just 145 yards.
Fournette entered Saturday’s game having rushed for 284 yards on 16 carries in his previous outing against Ole Miss.
“We played a lot of the same stuff we played a year ago,” Saban said. “We play a 3-4, and everybody has a gap and everybody’s got to win the block and create a new line of scrimmage. We’ve got some pretty hateful guys who play defense around here and are pretty good competitors, so when they get challenged a little bit, they usually respond.”
Said Allen: “We’re just dominating the line of scrimmage. I felt like we did that last week in practice, and that’s where it kind of comes from.”
On Sunday, the Walter Camp Foundation named Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson its offensive player of the week nationally and went with Alabama’s entire unit on defense. It marked the first time an entire defense was selected in more than a decade.
Tide tidbits
Alabama has won 21 consecutive games, seven shy of matching the school record. Saban improved to 71-13 with the Tide against SEC foes, and the average score in those games is 40-15. Allen’s first-quarter sack of LSU quarterback Danny Etling was the 25th of his career, which ties Kindal Moorehead (1998-2002) for second all-time on the school charts. Alabama junior JK Scott opened the second quarter with a 66-yard punt, his longest of the season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.