He had a sense of calm and excitement when the clock hit triple zeros at Tiger Stadium.
Kalen DeBoer handled business as Alabama’s head football coach, leading the Crimson Tide to an emphatic, 42-13 victory over Louisiana State University last week. Alabama remains in the College Football Playoff race following a dominant win.
Mother of an Alabama OL updates his status after suffering an injury versus LSU
DeBoer showed the media he can handle the atmosphere of “Death Valley” as he stuck a sword into the Tigers’ CFP hopes.
In his postgame presser, DeBoer unveiled his thoughts on why Alabama had its most complete game versus LSU.
“I am super proud of our guys,” DeBoer said after the win. “The way they prepared, I think it led them to a place of confidence coming in. I felt that the energy was there all week long and as the week progressed, I felt that we were at the top of our game and understood what it would take to come in here and play four quarters. I felt like that was the most complete game we played.”
Alabama started gelling together in its 34-0 win over Missouri. DeBoer began to see the leadership rise in that matchup at Bryant-Denny Stadium; however, it took another step against LSU. He said the team played ‘complementary football’ versus the Tigers.
Jalen Milroe had a monster performance with 185 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Alabama fans react to Crimson Tide’s significant win over LSU to keep CFP hopes alive
DeBoer said the players around him helped him play at a confident level to get him rolling.
“I think there were a lot of guys that helped him get to those spots,” DeBoer said.
“It was a lot of smaller gains that get you into positions where your whole playbook is available to you. Obviously, he has a super power when it comes to running the football. You see him not just be a guy that gets first downs, but finishes in the end zone. With him doing what he did early on, he got the ball rolling there and made the throws that were timely when needed and other guys continued to step up. When we stay ahead of the chains and the whole playbook is available, there is a lot we can do.”
Alabama also had several big plays on defense. Domani Jackson made a crucial tackle on an LSU receiver at the 5-yard line to prevent a touchdown in the first half. The Tigers settled for a field goal on that possession and had just six points at halftime.
Deontae Lawson and Bray Hubbard both recorded an interception, while Jihaad Campbell forced a fumble on a sack.
Campbell stated to reporters before the game that Alabama was bringing ‘violent intentions’ to LSU. He had the right corresponding actions to his words with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry, and a forced fumble. DeBoer said Kane Wommack, Alabama’s defensive coordinator, did a great job of mixing things up.
“I love where our defense is at right now,” DeBoer said.
“We may give up a play here or there, but they move on to the next one. They go out and execute the next one, and they are getting into that mindset of one yard is too many. They did not want to give up that one touchdown at the end either, so a lot of pride on that side of the ball.”
DeBoer liked the wrinkles that Alabama added on defense in the week of practice to offset Garrett Nussmeier and LSU.
Alabama chances to make playoff skyrocket after beating LSU, per ESPN FPI
“We mixed up the defense, we mixed up the pressures,” he said. “We made plays when we had a chance. There were a couple tackles we missed and a couple of edges we gave up, but I thought we were pretty sound for the most part.”
Alabama’s defense allowed one touchdown in its last two games.
Kyren Lacy caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Nussmeier over Jaylen Mbakwe, a freshman cornerback for Alabama, with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Lacy, a very talented receiver, did not have his first catch of the game until the third quarter.
The Tide’s secondary did not allow a single Tiger wide receiver to catch a pass until the second quarter.
Alabama locked up one of the best offenses in college football until 11 seconds left in regulation. DeBoer is starting to see his group come together at the right time to make a College Football Playoff push.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber-only content!*
Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
