We’ve all seen movies that had us gripped but lacked the ending to match.
The first half of “Full Metal Jacket” is so intense that I struggle to remember the rest, while “Bull Durham” and “Stripes” are among the entertaining flicks whose final 20 minutes are their worst.
That was how Alabama’s 42-28 downing of LSU felt Saturday night after a first half in which Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels rushed for 127 yards and Crimson Tide counterpart Jalen Milroe ran for 102 in a 21-21 deadlock. Milroe ultimately finished with 155 and became the first Alabama quarterback ever to reach the end zone four times, and he guided an attack that compiled 507 yards and would not be denied on third down.
“Our offense did a fantastic job in this game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said in a news conference. “I’m so proud of our team, and it’s a great team win, but our offense controlled the tempo of the game, especially in the second half, and I think that was the difference. The key was being 11-of-14 on third down, which allowed us to keep the ball and kept it away from them.
“This is probably as close to a complete game as we’ve played all year.”