No. 11 Alabama’s chances of making the College Football Playoff are very much alive after a 42-13 win over No. 14 LSU on Saturday night.
Jalen Milroe rushed for four touchdowns as the LSU defense struggled against a running quarterback for the second straight game. Milroe opened the game with a 39-yard TD and then broke the game wide open in the fourth quarter with a 72-yard run.
Two weeks ago, the LSU defense was caught completely off-guard by Texas A&M’s second-half quarterback change. Marcel Reed replaced Conner Weigman as the Aggies scored TD drives on Reed’s first four possessions. Reed scored three of them himself on quarterback runs as the Aggies rushed for 242 yards.
Alabama clearly wanted to test the LSU defense again. Milroe’s ability to make magic happen with his speed and escapability is a big part of the Alabama offense, and LSU had a hard time stopping the designed QB runs.
Milroe finished the game with 185 rushing yards on just 12 carries. He was able to watch the final minutes from the bench thanks to the Crimson Tide’s big lead.
The loss is LSU’s third of the season and assuredly removes the Tigers from playoff contention. LSU opened the season with a loss to USC — a defeat that looks worse with every Trojans’ loss — and has a great chance to win out. But a 9-3 season is probably not going to be good enough to get to the expanded postseason regardless.
As the LSU defense couldn’t stop the run, the offense wasn’t explosive either. QB Garrett Nussmeier struggled on a rainy night in Baton Rouge with two interceptions. Nussmeier’s first pick came on the first drive of the second half as Alabama led 21-6.
The Tigers drove all the way to Alabama’s 4-yard line, but Nussmeier’s pass on second down was intercepted by Deontae Lawson at the goal line. It was the second trip inside the Alabama 10-yard line for the Tigers and the second time they failed to score a touchdown. In the first half, LSU had to kick a field goal after getting to the Alabama 6.
Is Milroe back in the Heisman conversation?
There are four clear favorites for the Heisman through the first 11 weeks of the season in Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, Miami’s Cam Ward and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. But Milroe has put himself back in the conversation with his performance on Saturday night and Alabama’s chances of winning the SEC.
It’s a logjam at the top of the conference, but the Crimson Tide is still alive for the SEC title game. And Milroe has stats that stack up well. He has 16 rushing touchdowns and has thrown 13 passing TDs. Only two players — Ward and North Texas’ Chandler Morris — are responsible for more than 30 TDs this season.
It’s unlikely that Milroe will be lifting the Hisman Trophy at the end of the season. But don’t write him off as a Heisman finalist.
