Fans were cheering for much more than they got Saturday, but they'll get more soon. (Photo-TDA Magazine)

A Bayou Bengal Brawl May Have Helped Alabama for the Future

By: Larry Burton

Except for some of the first game of the season, Alabama has not really been pushed. They have been the bully on the block who have dished out both the blowout wins and the physical beatings to their collection of opponents. So far this season, all these brawls have been very one sided.

At least until Saturday.

Alabama was supposed to win this game by 20.5 points. They didn’t. The over and under line was 46.5 points. They didn’t score near that much. This was an old fashioned Alabama / LSU defensive brawl. Muscle against muscle. This was a game where the training and medical staffs on both sides were kept much busier than the scorekeeper. This was a street brawl disguised as a football game and while Alabama failed to live up to their “Bully on the block” status, they did leave the victor and what’s more, they left with something a lot more important.

LSU came within a few dropped passes of putting themselves in the spoiler’s role. Alabama, who before this game had five guys running the ball for about 8 yards a carry, now found themselves with no one that could average over 3.7. The vaunted Alabama run defense, that held teams to about 66 yards rushing gave up more than that on just one run and in total, not counting the quarterbacks, LSU rushed for 185 yards. In all Alabama, with the nation’s best stable of running backs, were out rushed in total yardage and in yards per carry for the first time this season.

Yes, LSU lined up and brought it, challenging Alabama where they lived, in the trenches, with the running backs and standing up to the bully willing to trade shots instead of ducking and running for cover. And while in the end Alabama just had too much depth and also had the game’s only X factor, Jalen Hurts, LSU gave Alabama the most physical game they’ve played this season and also the closest game they’ve played.

Jalen Hurts experience and talent was the difference between two equally matched teams on this day. His clutch runs and throws just when they needed them was something that LSU couldn’t match with either of their quarterbacks.

But before you think this was a letdown game for Alabama that could hurt their chances to re-claim the number one ranking, you are wrong. This was a game that will help Alabama in very many ways for the games to come. Let me explain why this Bayou Bengal Brawl was so good for Alabama.

First of all… It showed Alabama that they can’t just show up and meet or exceed the expectations laid out by either betting lines or power index ratings. They found out today that when good folks bring their A game that they can play toe to toe with the big Crimson Tide machine. This will help change their attitude and help dilute some of the “rat poison” the media has been feeding this team. They found out Saturday they may not be as good as they thought and there’s lots of room for improvement. This alone may have made Saban smile like an opossum on the drive home.

Secondly… It showed them they aren’t all that and a bag of chips in stopping the run. LSU had them on their heels at times with both power runs and misdirection plays and don’t think for a minute that Auburn and Georgia, two future teams who can do that even better, didn’t take notice. This will help them see the cracks that they may not before this game, even knew they had. This was a valuable learning experience in preparing for Auburn and Georgia who will try many of the same kinds of plays.

Thirdly… So far this year, Alabama hasn’t been in such a bare knuckle type brawl. Now they have been and they know how to react when they get hit squarely and hard in the mouth by someone who isn’t intimidated by those Crimson uniforms and that Alabama. And they know they can win. So if and when they’re in another such fight, they have this experience to fall back on and they’ll know that can and will prevail if they just don’t panic and continue to swap hay makers and play Alabama football.

Fourth… With players exiting the game left and right, Alabama saw that when the “Next man up” situations came up, that the next man was more than ready to step in, but ready to step up. As the season wears on, more injuries are likely to take their toll on this team and they have all the confidence in the world in whoever that next man up is. That confidence keeps coaches from having to adapt their game plan and keeps players from playing their own position while trying to keep their eyes on the replaced position’s job. Everyone on this team trusts everyone.

Lastly… In this game, Alabama has less rushing yardage than LSU, less time of possession, less first downs, a lower third down conversion rate and less total yards on offense. Usually when you see stats like that, these are the stats of a team who lost the game, but Alabama won. Saturday, Alabama saw that with virtually everything going against them they can still win. Never did any Alabama player go back to the bench, put his head down and put a towel over his head. This was a team that defined doing what it takes to win. A timely interception that resulted in points, a key third down conversion that ended up keeping an important scoring drive alive and more such plays all defined this team that even when they weren’t having their best day, could do what it takes to win. Now they know that this too is possible.

So overall, it was a great day for Alabama. Nick Saban got his win and the opportunity to show his team that there is still much do before the SEC championship and playoff time arrives. What’s best is that his team sees it too and now doesn’t need to be convinced that they aren’t where they need to be or can be to face even tougher teams ahead.

So while this game may have left some of the Alabama faithful feeling a bit less giddy than they hoped they’d be, this Bayou Bengal Brawl could in fact have been the best thing that could have happened to this team.

Larry has been published in almost every media outlet for college sports and now primarily writes here for Touchdown Alabama. Follow Larry on Twitter for inside thoughts and game time comments at https://twitter.com/LBSportswriter

THANKS FOR SHARING THE LINK TO THIS STORY ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE OR A FACEBOOK GROUP YOU BELONG TO, FACEBOOK RESTRICTS HOW MANY PLACES WE CAN POST IT ON, SO PLEASE SHARE!