LSU Capitalizes on Alabama Mistakes en Route 46-41 Win, Ending Eight Year Drought
As Ed Orgeron wound down his Saturday postgame press conference, he was asked about his comments two years ago.
You remember, the infamous "We're comin, and we ain't backing down" quote that, for the last few years has been played on repeat in the hopes of one day coming to fruition.
Well Saturday night's answer was similar, with one caveat.
"This was the first and it won't be the last time we beat them," Orgeron said. "We comin, we comin, this won't be the last time and we're going to continue to ride, continue to make progress."
It was the picturesque first half that LSU fans could only dream of, the Heisman making performance for one of the greatest quarterback's in program history and surviving a late, fierce comeback from a talented Alabama team.
All of that bottled up into one game added up to an eight-year drought for LSU football that would come to an end as the Tigers defeated No. 3 Alabama 46-41.
Alabama made mistakes early and often Saturday afternoon. There was Tua Tagovailoa's first quarter fumble, a botched snap by Crimson Tide punter Ty Perine, but perhaps most costly of all was an interception with 11 seconds to go in the first half.
LSU would score 17 points off those Alabama missteps and ride into the break with a 33-13 halftime lead.
While the mistakes were important, capitalizing on them was most important of all and that starts and stops with the play of senior quarterback Joe Burrow Saturday afternoon.
Burrow cemented his Heisman status with one of the great performances ever to grace LSU, completing 31-of-39 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns.
His connection with running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase and tight end Thaddeus Moss stand out the most, as the LSU offense accumulated 559 yards of total offense on a defense allowing 307 yards per game, top-20 in the country.
Between Edwards-Helaire and Jefferson's constant juke moves and gravity-defying catches made by Chase and Moss, the LSU offense was just unstoppable.
Edwards-Helaire led the way on the ground, carrying for 103 yards on 20 carries while also adding an additional 77 yards through the air. Chase and Jefferson combined for 219 yards on 13 receptions.
The 33-13 halftime lead was the largest lead the Tigers have held against Alabama since a 27-3 win in 2003. If you thought Alabama would just willow away, you were sorely mistaken.
A disastrous third quarter where the LSU offense failed to put up any points, allowed Alabama and Najee Harris to get going. Harris was unstoppable in the third quarter, as the Bama back combined for 190 yards on the night with two touchdowns and helped cut a 33-13 lead to 33-27 by mid mark in the fourth.
Orgeron knew the Tide were going to make a run in the second half and that the message to his teams was to just continue to play their game.
"I told them on Monday that I do believe you are the better football team and that's the first time I said that to them," Orgeron said. "I said we are the better football team but you have to take care of business."
Like all great teams, the offense needed that game-defining drive and got exactly that from Burrow and company. LSU drove 75 yards in 12 plays with Burrow, Edwards-Helaire and Chase leading the way, capped off by Edwards-Helaire's third score of the game on a nifty spin move.
When Alabama drove right down the field again, it was Burrow who led the charge once more, as completions to Chase and Jefferson put LSU in business. On 3rd-and-2, the senior used his legs to pick up 18 of his 64 rushing yards to set LSU up for the winning score from Edwards-Helaire two plays later.
"Everyone's been calling me sneaky fast for about 15 years and I think we all know what that means," Burrow said.
It was a win the program desperately needed and for the first time in eight years, was able to deliver. Perhaps no picture quite encapsulated LSU’s win than to watch the senior quarterback Burrow and the coach, Orgeron, locked in embrace after the game.
Orgeron, in the moment, said he harked back to Burrow's recruitment in 2018 and reminded the senior of one particular trip as the two walked off the field.
"I told him I was glad we went to Mike Anderson's and ate crawfish that night and he decided to come here," Orgeron said with a cheeky grin.
