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Alabama shot itself against LSU, but what if those plays did not happen

Brian Pride - Touchdown Alabama Magazine

We are in a new week and cannot take back the loss that happened, but fans of Alabama football still wonder about certain plays versus LSU that could have been avoided. 

Credit the Tigers’ coaching staff, Joe Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and its defense for showing more desire than the Crimson Tide did; nevertheless, Alabama did hand the Bayou Bengals some opportunities.

Even with living in a world of here and now, those who were overwhelmed by the loss can’t help but to think on ‘what if’ certain things did not happen. 

It was a collective defeat for the Tide at home, but yours truly of Touchdown Alabama Magazine recalls six things that contributed to the letdown. Should these not have occurred, the matchup probably would have had a different result.

RELATED: WATCH: LSU players walk over to Tide recruits after win

Listed below are the six ‘what ifs’ from last week. 

1. Tua Tagovailoa’s fumble 

One has to respect Tagovailoa for wanting to play in this game. 

He did not have to – seeing how he was returning from surgery – but Alabama would have seized early momentum in the game, if he did not fumble the ball. LSU won the coin toss, yet chose to defer its option to the second half.

Offensively, the Crimson Tide quickly drove the ball inside LSU’s 20-yard in three plays. The crowd became boisterous, upon Alabama moving the ball inside the 10-yard line. On third down, Tagovailoa found himself in mid thought to either run or pass.

In switching the ball to his off hand, he fumbles it and the Tigers recover. 

It would proceed to record a touchdown on its first offensive possession. If not for the fumble, the Tide could have at least registered three points. Instead, the turnover started a game of mental errors and mistakes that forced it to play from behind.

2. Ty Perine’s mishandled snap on a punt 

Since the Tennessee game, Perine has been great for the team.

He was averaging 47 yards per punt and was becoming a fan favorite. The Prattville (Ala.) native is still a hot commodity, but he would love to have his first attempt back versus LSU.

He took his eyes off the snap and it led to a mishandled play that resulted in the Tigers gaining a short field.

Alabama’s defense doesn’t allow a touchdown, but Cade York does convert on a field goal. If he handled the ball well, Perine probably pins LSU’s offense on its own 20-yard line and forces it to drive the length of the field. The error led to a free scoring drive, a 10-0 early deficit for Alabama, and more confidence for Burrow and company.

3. The interception that never happen for Trevon Diggs 

He might want to put this game inside a shredder and delete it. 

Diggs had a painfully difficult time covering Ja’Marr Chase of the Tigers and though he allowed Chase to total 100-plus receiving yards with one touchdown, the senior cornerback almost had one positive moment.

He picked off Burrow in the first quarter and with the Tide trailing, 7-0, it was a huge point at the beginning of the game.

Diggs is about to hold the “Ball Out” turnover belt and the crowd is very excited, but the play did not stand.

An illegal substitution foul took away a turnover that would have given Alabama’s offense a short field and a bunch of energy.

Due to the penalty, LSU maintained possession and connected on a field goal. With the turnover being negated, it allowed the Tigers to build on its momentum in the first quarter.

If the interception would have remained, it gives Diggs a lot of confidence and he turns in a much better performance.

4. Tagovailoa’s interception before halftime 

This was the play Nick Saban blamed himself for in his postgame presser. 

He could have chosen to run the ball and go into the half with a 26-13 deficit, but he trusted Tagovailoa to make a play. As a result, Patrick Queen of LSU became the third player to intercept a pass off the junior quarterback all season.

The junior linebacker sat on a route, broke in front of the pass and gathered in the second Tagovailoa turnover.

It was part of a 14-point swing for the Tigers, as it took a 20-point lead (33-13) into halftime. 

If the Tide had gone with a run play there, it probably would’ve trailed by 13 – which was the same deficit it was up against in the 2018 College Football Playoff title game to Georgia. Alabama made the switch to Tagovailoa from Jalen Hurts in the second half and would ultimately win the contest, 26-23 in overtime.

5. Thaddeus Moss’ 16-yard catch for LSU (illegal touching) 

It was a simple call, but the officiating crew missed it. 

LSU was up 26-13 late in the second quarter, when Thaddeus Moss was credited with a 16-yard catch.

According to the NCAA rule book, if a receiver steps out of bounds and does not re-establish himself in bounds before making a catch, it is an incomplete pass. 

Moss was clearly out of bounds on the catch and the play was reviewed, yet the referees gave the call to the Tigers. What made this a ‘what if’ moment is that if the call was made in favor of an incompletion, LSU is held to only a field goal.

Whether it makes the field goal or not, Alabama does not go into halftime down by 20 points. Instead, the Tigers are granted the call of a completion and Clyde Edwards-Helaire records a 1-yard touchdown run. His score gave LSU a 33-13 edge and it forced the Tide to attempt to overcome a 20-point deficit.

6. Not getting stops on third down 

It is not the same Alabama defense from recent years; however, fans at least expected a stop on third down.

Numerous moments happened where players either had Burrow sacked, Edwards-Helaire caught in the backfield or a chance to make a simply tackle short of the first down and none of those things happened.

Burrow found ways to escape pressure, Edwards-Helaire spun out of tackles and trucked guys over, and LSU’s group of receivers fought for every yard it got. 

Of the variety of third downs it faces, between five and 10 yards was the distance the Tide had to defend.

Quite a few of those situations came in the fourth quarter, but Alabama was unable to get off the field.

One stop was the difference between the final result and what could have happened if the Tide’s offense had an opportunity with ample time left.

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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine.  You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.

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Stephen Smith is a 2015 graduate of the University of Alabama. He is a senior writer and reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He has covered Alabama football for 10+ years and his knowledge and coverage of the Crimson Tide's program have made him among the most respected journalist in his field. Smith has been featured on ESPN and several other marquee outlets as an analyst.

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