Alabama’s championship dreams survive trip to Death Valley

“Death Valley: where dreams go to die.” – LSU Coach Les Miles

Alabama delivered a forgettable performance for just under four quarters of play Saturday night in Baton Rouge, but the 20-13 overtime win ended up being a victory that Crimson Tide fans will always remember.

T.J. Yeldon fumbled the ball on the Alabama 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter. LSU recovered it and kicked a field goal, taking a 13-10 lead with 50 seconds remaining. The game should have ended there, but it didn’t.

The Alabama offense that had been out of sorts all night finally clicked into gear, driving 55 yards and sending the game to overtime thanks to an Adam Griffith field goal, which felt like a miracle in and of itself. As a matter of fact, Griffith missed the exact same field goal — same distance, same direction — earlier in the game, adding to Alabama’s season-long struggle on the kicking team.

But after the tying field goal went through the uprights to close out regulation, it was Alabama’s game. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s playbook flung open, converting offensive lineman Brandon Greene into a receiver for his first reception ever and bringing the Crimson Tide to the goal line. Quarterback Blake Sims hit DeAndrew White in the end zone on second down and Alabama took a lead it would not give back.

“Playing here, it’s always this way,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “This is where you show you know how to win.”

Before the last-ditch effort at the end of regulation, Alabama’s offense was a miserable mess for the majority of the game. Death Valley is an imposing stadium and Alabama hasn’t been great on the road this season, but this was bizarre, almost like the Tide’s offensive unit had forgotten how to play ball during the bye week. Pass plays uncharacteristically far outnumbered runs 46-29. Sims overthrew his receivers, Amari Cooper had some uncharacteristic dropped passes, and T.J. Yeldon was held under 100 yards rushing. The all-caps Tweets demanding Lane Kiffin “run the dang ball” — or some variation thereof — fell on deaf ears.

“There’s a lot of things we need to do better,” Saban said. “It was tough down there and I’m really, really proud of our players for finishing the way they did.”

The Alabama offense only managed three plays in the third quarter and didn’t achieve a first down in the second half until midway through the fourth. Other than the final drive and overtime for Alabama’s offense, it was the defense that should receive the accolades.

Alabama’s defense gave up some big third down runs to LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings, but were stout against the Tigers’ downhill rushing attack. Defensive lineman Jarran Reed had 15 tackles, linebacker Reggie Ragland had 13, cornerback Eddie Jackson had an interception, and the secondary stood tall in overtime as LSU took repeated shots at the end zone.

This game was exactly what everyone expected it to be: a fiercely competitive battle between rival football powers who absolutely cannot stand each other. LSU played a near-perfect game to beat Alabama for nearly 60 minutes, but it was the final 50 seconds of regulation that made the difference.

With No. 1 Mississippi State coming to Tuscaloosa on Saturday, the Crimson Tide can’t rest on their laurels for too long. But this win showed the team’s character and resiliency. No matter how bad the game was — and it was cringeworthy at times — Alabama survived and advanced.