The LSU Tigers Lack In A Key Area

The LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide gave the college football world what it asked for last night on the prime-time stage. The Crimson Tide needed every second of the game clock to pull out their second victory in a row against the Tigers. Last night, along with last year’s BCS Championship game loss, signified the second straight time LSU has had their national championship dreams shattered by the Bama Hammer.

If you were to just look over the box score, you would see how Zach Mettenberger threw for a surprising 298 yards, to go with a touchdown pass and no interceptions. Jeremy Hill ran for more yards than anyone else has been able to against the Alabama defense, and the Tiger defense was even able to hold the Tide to just 21 points. The biggest statistic that should’ve made all the difference in the world for the purple and gold was how they held AJ McCarron and the Crimson Tide offense to 1-9 on third downs.

How does a team that controls the game on offense and defensively holds one of the most efficient offensive units to just 331 yards still loose? LSU played perfect enough to win in every aspect of the game except for the crown jewel of how to beat the Tide. The play of the Tigers’ special teams hurt their chances of knocking off the number one team in the country. Now, LSU will have to wait another year to meet with Bama and regain the SEC.

LSU’s seven penalties didn’t help, but look no further than one of the most important units in SEC football. Les Miles is known for his gambling in games, but it’s not even conceivable why he attempted a fake field goal in the second quarter, or why he attempted an onside kick when his boys had cut the Bama lead to just four points. This is now something that will haunt fans the rest of the season. It had been brought up how if a team hopes to beat the Tide, they must take chances. However, there is a clear difference between taking a chance down field on fourth down with your quarterback, who was playing brilliantly, and just getting careless in a game where field position is everything.

To make the decisions of the “Mad Hatter” even more puzzling, he then decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the Tide 24 with 8:42 to play. Instead of bringing out Drew Alleman to kick the field goal, Miles calls a “quarterback” sneak with tailback Spencer Ware. In Mile’s defense, Alleman did miss one earlier in the game, but then he decides to have Alleman try for a career long 45-yarder.

LSU outplayed, out-gained and just flat-out got the better of Alabama, but are still sitting in Baton Rouge with a loss. The formula to beat the Crimson Tide is win the turnover battle and execute on special teams. Les Miles was careless in his management of the game and his decisions cost his team a chance in the national title race.