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Longtime SEC rivals Alabama and LSU are facing off tonight at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The game is underway early in the first quarter.
Q1 7:58 – LSU 0, Alabama 0
Another nice scramble from Garrett Nussmeier. The LSU quarterback rolls out to his right on third-and-8, connecting with Aaron Anderson for the 9-yard completion.
LSU gets the first down and is deep in Alabama territory. Can the Tigers score?
Q1 9:40 – LSU 0, Alabama 0
Garrett Nussmeier isn't known to throw on the run. But the LSU quarterback does exactly that on second-and-3 following the fumble recovery.
Nussmeier scrambles and throws to Nic Anderson, who makes the wide open catch for 16 yards. First down Tigers!
Q1 10:35 – LSU 0, Alabama 0
A shocking end to the drive for Alabama. On fourth-and-1, they elect to have running back Jam Miller take the snap. The LSU defense gets a fantastic stop, as Miller is unable to pick up the first down.
Turnover on downs. LSU ball. Let's see if the Tigers offense can build off of the defensive stop.
Q1 12:43 – LSU 0, Alabama 0
You have to appreciate Ty Simpson's pre snap decision making there. He senses a strong safety blitz from LSU, audibles, before finding receiver Ryan Williams for the 14-yard reception.
Another first down for Alabama. The offense is finding its groove.
Q1 13:36 – LSU 0, Alabama 0
It's a third-down conversion for Alabama. Ty Simpson goes through his progressions before finding Jam Miller for the 9-yard completion on third-and-6.
First down Crimson Tide as the drive continues!
Q1 15:00 – LSU 0, Alabama 0
We're underway from Tuscaloosa as Alabama starts with the ball!
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer leads his players onto the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide have never lost at home in DeBoer’s tenure.
Moments away from kickoff!
The Star-Spangled Banner is performed by the Alabama marching band. Not long now until the players step onto the field and this storied SEC rivalry gets renewed again.
Get excited, college football fans!
The SEC rivals face off tonight in Tuscaloosa. There is plenty on the line for Alabama, which has won seven straight and is undefeated in conference play. The Tide were fourth in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season on Tuesday.
Alabama is a 9.5-point favorite on BetMGM. The Crimson Tide were favored by 10 earlier in the week, but it has tightened a bit. Despite this being a marquee matchup, spreads of more than a touchdown have been common in recent years. Bama has been favored by double digits in five of the previous eight meetings, although the last two were only 3-point spreads.
Coming into the season, it was the Tigers’ defense — upgraded via the transfer portal and helmed by coordinator Blake Baker — that was supposed to lift them to national championship contention. While LSU’s offense bears its fair share of the blame for this disappointing season, results have been mixed on defense as well. Baker has overseen an improved unit, albeit one coming off allowing a staggering 49 points to Texas A&M at home in a loss that prompted Brian Kelly’s firing.
The Tigers will have to be opportunistic for a shot at upsetting Alabama tonight — a path to an unlikely victory probably includes a key turnover caused by the likes of star pass rusher Harold Perkins Jr. or cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Ryan Williams has had a solid season for Alabama in his sophomore campaign, but it hasn’t been maybe what some folks were expecting with 33 catches and four touchdowns. But he has played well in prime-time games. So keep an eye out for him tonight.
Since LSU’s historic 15-0 season in 2019, things have been difficult in Baton Rouge. The Tigers went 5-5 in 2020 and 6-7 in 2021, which led to the firing of Ed Orgeron as head coach.
In Brian Kelly’s three full seasons, they lost four, three and four games, and they already have lost three this season, which led to Kelly’s firing on Oct. 26.
Who would have thought Alabama would have been No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff rankings after the way it opened the season? The Tide were crushed by Florida State (31-17) on Aug. 17 in Tallahassee, and it looked like it could be a rough season for Alabama.
But it has responded nicely with a seven-game winning streak, including five in the SEC and four straight against ranked teams in conference.
In his second season as Alabama’s head coach, Kalen DeBoer is 11-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide have won those games by an average of 29.3 points per game.
When Brian Kelly was fired by LSU, Frank Wilson was named the Tigers’ interim head coach. Tonight will offer our first chance to see the Tigers led by Wilson after their bye week last week.
Wilson, who is on his second stint as an assistant coach, served as the running backs coach and associate head coach. He has deep Louisiana roots and also has worked as an assistant at Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Tennessee, and as the head coach at UTSA and McNeese State.
This isn’t a horrible matchup for the LSU defense. The Tigers have been vulnerable against the run this year, and Alabama isn’t the most efficient rushing offense. How they match up through the air will be key to how much Alabama can win by. But I don’t know where the success comes from for LSU’s offense. LSU has not been able to run the ball this year, and that’s how you’ll want to attack Alabama’s defense. If LSU is stuck in the mud on offense, I’m not sure how this stays under two touchdowns.
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