Jalen Hurts was once again LSU’s kryptonite on a Saturday night in Tuscaloosa as his Tide beat the Tigers 24-10. The sophomore quarterback had one of his best all-around games of this campaign despite an alarming amount of dropped passes. He went 11-of-24 for 183 yards and a touchdown. He was dynamic on the ground as well, running for 44 yards and another score on 14 carries. Calvin Ridley was the biggest benefactor of Hurts’ playmaking tonight as he caught a trio of balls for 64 yards.
Though Hurts was the most effective runner of the pack, Bo Scarbrough had one of the better nights of his 2017 season, too. He managed just 39 yards on 11 carries and a score, but his physical style of play led to him out-carrying the starter, Damien Harris, 11-to-9.
The biggest defensive storylines of the game, however, were not as pretty. Starting linebacker, Shaun Dion Hamilton, went down during the third quarter grasping the same knee that kept him out of games last year. The cameras then showed him limping off the field in tears and it looked as though he already knew what was wrong. This, of course, came after Minkah Fitzpatrick fell to the ground earlier in the game clutching his hamstring. Though Fitzpatrick would eventually return in certain defensive packages, he did not appear to be playing at 100%.
Alabama has another top-25 conference matchup coming next week with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Bulldogs’ quarterback, Nick Fitzgerald, is capable of taking advantage of a depleted Tide defense should Fitzpatrick miss any time for recovery. One bright spot for Alabama, however, was the play of Fitzpatrick’s safety cohort, Ronnie Harrison. The third-year vet handed out a handful of punishing hits and an equally physical interception of Danny Etling.
