Yhonzae Pierre's Strip-Sack to Cap Big Night Seals Alabama Victory: Notebook

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The No. 4 Alabama football team turned in a stout defensive performance during its 20-9 home win over LSU Saturday. As has been the case over the last several weeks, Wolf linebacker Yhonzae Pierre was one of the players at the center of that.

Pierre recorded two sacks and forced one of LSU's (5-4, 2-4 SEC) two turnovers with a strip-sack of quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. in the fourth quarter. By then, the Bryant-Denny Stadium scoreboard reflected the numbers that would make up the final score, and the Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0 SEC) did not give the ball back to the Tigers after taking over with 3:11 left on the clock.

LSU starter Garrett Nussmeier didn't finish the game, being benched in the second half. The move didn't surprise Pierre, who has looked right at home in his enhanced role since Qua Russaw broke his foot in late September. Pierre has five combined sacks in the team's last two home games, and he said Alabama prepared for Saturday's game as if it would see both Nussmeier and Van Buren.

"[I was] just doing my job, man. Rushing out the edge and getting home," Pierre said. "They have a good offense. He's [Nussmeier] a good quarterback. And then the other one, he's a good running quarterback."

Alabama's defense was the driving force in its rivalry win. That doesn't mean the unit feels as though it has reached its peak. Pierre, at least, doesn't think that's the case.

"We still got more to come," Pierre said. "It's gonna take, just, hard work. Iron sharpening iron, day in and day out. The rest'll be history."

Freshman Wide Receiver Steps Up Again

True freshman wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks has demonstrated the makings of a future star this season. With tremendous speed and athletic ability, he can get downfield in a flash, and that has sometimes led to him being on the receiving end of a big play for the offense, while he is also a fixture on special teams. Brooks finished the LSU game with four catches (tied for the team high) and 67 yards.

"Everybody's super excited for him," tight end Josh Cuevas said. "Being a younger guy out there getting that experience is super awesome. We have a lot of guys making some plays out there, but, I mean, it shows in practice too. You've gotta go out there and practice it and let Coach [Ryan] Grubb kinda have a good feeling that he can call it in the game. Lotzeir Brooks has done a great job of that."

On Saturday, with Alabama up 10-3 late in the second quarter but having one more chance to score before halftime, Brooks was the recipient of a 53-yard deposit from quarterback Ty Simpson that set the Crimson Tide up at the Tigers' 13. On the very next play, Simpson found sophomore Ryan Williams for a touchdown.

"That throw to Lottie at the end of the half was huge," head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "Some momentum going to the locker room... Ty and Lottie seem to hook up when we're the most covered, so that's a great play by those guys."

Those seven points mattered the rest of the way. LSU couldn't get into the end zone all night long, having to settle for field goals instead. However, an eventual 17-9 lead in the fourth quarter is accompanied by considerably more comfort than a 10-9 lead, which Alabama would've been playing with if not for the touchdown at the tail end of the first half.

"[He] gives us another bullet in the chamber in the wideout room," Simpson said. "We got such a great room anyway, but a guy who can just blow the top off things."

Energy from Crowd Contributes to Large Penalty Differential

At no point last fall, during Kalen DeBoer's first season, was Alabama penalized less than an opponent in a game. That trend was not bucked until Sept. 27 at Georgia, but on Saturday night against LSU, the discrepancy was even wider: the Tigers had 10 penalties for 74 yards, while the Crimson Tide ended the contest with just two (for 25 yards).

That kind of margin makes a big difference in a game's result. So, too, does a shutout crowd, which Alabama had in its corner for the matchup. For as much as the fans in the stands were able to affect the game, they were given credit by the Crimson Tide's players.

"It was electric," Cuevas said. "Credit to the fans too. They [LSU] were penalized a lot this game. So, credit to the fans on some of that stuff, just making it loud, making it rowdy in there."

Defensive intensity plays a big role in generating some of that energy. Alabama upheld its end in that regard, with five players posting five or more tackles. Linebacker Deontae Lawson had nine. The unit forced the aforementioned two Tiger turnovers over the course of the night. One was Pierre's doing, by way of the strip-sack.

"Feeding off that and everybody doing [their] job and trying to get the ball back to our offense for them to do what they can do, just, good thing," Pierre said.

TideBits

The game spanned three hours and 18 minutes. Temperature at kickoff was 67 degrees and the announced attendance was 100,077, making the contest a sellout. The honorary captains were Crimson Tide legends Cornelius Bennett and Bobby Humphrey.

Alabama's captains remained the same as they do every game: Simpson and center Parker Brailsford on offense, along with Lawson and defensive tackle Tim Keenan III on defense.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was in attendance. The Dodgers recently won the third World Series championship of his managerial tenure (second during a full season) by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games after the American League champions squandered multiple opportunities to clinch the title.

Officials:

Referee: Matt Loeffler
Umpire: Stan Weihe
Head Linesman: Nicholas Theriot
Line Judge: Jake Osgood
Back Judge: John Morton
Field Judge: Antonio Smith
Side Judge: Glen Fucik
Center Judge: Jason McArthur
Replay Official: Kevin Holmes

Freshman Wide Receiver Steps Up Again

Energy from Crowd Contributes to Large Penalty Differential

TideBits

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