When quarterback Tua Tagovailoa fumbled away Alabama’s opening possession last Saturday inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Crimson Tide could take quick consolation that LSU would be starting its first drive at its own 8-yard line.
Six plays later, however, the Tigers had covered that distance and were celebrating a 33-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase.
LSU took a dazzling offensive arsenal to Tuscaloosa, but the Tigers joined a growing number of teams this year that have caught Alabama by surprise in the first several minutes of a game. The Tigers built a 33-13 halftime lead before prevailing 46-41.
“This has always been the case here,” Tide coach Nick Saban said this week. “If you’re good, sometimes people think that they have to do some different things to take advantage of something, and there is no way to know what those things are going to be unless you have a crystal ball. You can’t practice everything that can happen.
“Duke came out and ran the damn (wish)bone against us to start the game, and how were we supposed to know that? I think the issue is when you have young players playing, especially at linebacker. It’s difficult for those guys to adapt when they don’t have the experience to draw from.”