In the regular-season installment of the game of the century, things looked to have been getting out of hand for Alabama as LSU and Joe Burrow dominated the first half of play. Burrow was dominant in the first half of play completing 18/22 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns with the Alabama defense having no answers for him.
Despite the pressure off the edges from Terrell Lewis and Anfernee Jennings, Burrow was able to do a solid job evading the rush and getting the ball out to his receivers. Mainly Ja’Marr Chase who finished the game with 6 catches for 140 yards and one touchdown.
But coming out of halftime was a bit of a different story for the Crimson Tide as the defense came out with more passion and was able to slow down the Tigers offense a bit.
The top defensive performers for Alabama went as followed:
Xavier McKinney: 13 tackles, two sacks
Anfernee Jennings: 8 tackles, two sacks
Terrell Lewis: 7 tackles, three quarterback hits
All eyes were on the ankle of Tua Tagovailoa as well for it was his first game after injuring his ankle during the team’s matchup with Tennessee. It was quite an adjustment for the junior quarterback as he didn’t quite look the same out of the gates. With a fumble on the first drive, an interception right before the half which led to a touchdown and a couple of poorly passed balls was enough to get Alabama behind.
Tagovailoa did step things up a bit in the second half as he finished the game completing 21/40 passes for 418 yards 4 touchdowns and one interception.
But it was Najee Harris who was able to drag Alabama back in the second half as he scored two touchdowns to bring the Crimson Tide back within one score.
Harris finished the game with 146 yards on 19 carries, 3 catches for 44 yards and two total touchdowns.
Alabama’s other top offensive players went as followed:
Henry Ruggs: 3 catches 68 yards
Jerry Jeudy: 5 catches 71 yards one touchdown
DeVonta Smith: 7 catches 213 yards two touchdowns
But the Tide’s second-half efforts were in vain as the Tiger’s offense wouldn’t be denied. Burrow was clutch down the stretch as he picked apart Alabama’s secondary all night long.
Burrow finished the game going 31/39 for 393 yards and three touchdowns.
LSU’s running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a big difference in the game for Ed Orgeron’s offense in the second half. He had a number of backbreaking and chain moving runs to keep drives alive and eat up the clock.
Edwards-Helaire finished with 180 total yards and four total touchdowns.
The final score of the game was 46-41 with LSU coming into Bryant-Denny Stadium and getting a massive win.
Follow along with Touchdown Alabama for Nick Saban’s postgame press conference.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
