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No. 1 Alabama rolls past LSU in historic 55-17 rout


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Alabama's heavily anticipated dismantling of LSU officially dragged out nearly four hours.

But the No. 1 Crimson Tide (9-0) wasted no time strangling any drama or uncertainty out of its eventual 55-17 victory, the most lopsided margin in the series since 1925.

The veteran visitors scored on their first seven possessions — including touchdowns on their first five and six of the seven — en route to the largest point total either team has scored in the history of the rivalry.

Quarterback Mac Jones completed 20 of 28 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns.

And Louisiana native DeVonta Smith, from Amite, was his fellow junior's weapon of choice with eight catches for 231 yards and three scores.

Najee Harris gained more yards on the ground in the first half than LSU managed all night.

The senior running back finished with 145 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.

Alabama finished with 650 yards in all, the most allowed by LSU this season.

The young and outmatched Tigers (3-5) couldn't keep up with the Crimson Tide — on either side of the ball.

Harris scored the game's first two touchdowns, and Jones found a wide-open Jahleel Billingsley from 24 yards to stretch the lead to 21-0 after the first quarter.

Freshman quarterback T.J. Finley finally hit freshman receiver Kayshon Boutte early in the second quarter for an apparent 44-yard touchdown.

Even then, Boutte dropped the ball behind him just shy of the goal line in an example of the team's youth and lessons still being learned.

But, after multiple other players ran by the ball, senior Jontre Kirklin picked up the fumble in the end zone for team's first score.

Within three plays, Jones and found Smith deep over the top of two defenders for a 65-yard answer.

Sophomore running back John Emery Jr. found a seam for a 54-yard dash off the left side to the end zone to pull LSU back within 28-14.

But Alabama rolled away even more aggressively from there.

The Crimson Tide forced five consecutive punts and eventually a third-quarter fumble snatched away by junior linebacker Chris Allen, a Southern Lab product, before the Tigers could finally manage a 52-yard Cade York field goal.

Jones and company meanwhile stretched the lead to 45-14 by halftime, with two more connections with Smith and a 30-yard Will Reichard field goal, then 52-14 on a Harris run in the third.

York's kick trimmed the margin slightly to 52-17.

And a 34-yarder by Reichart marked the game's only fourth-quarter scoring.

Finley finished 14-for-28 for 144 yards, and fellow freshman Max Johnson completed 11 of 17 passes.

Emery rushed seven times for 79 yards and the score, and Tyrion Davis-Price added 24 yards on eight attempts.

Boutte led the team with eight catches for 111 yards, and freshman tight end Arik Gilbert caught five passes for 29 yards.

The second-straight loss, following last week's 20-7 final at Texas A&M, marks the first time the Tigers have done so since Orgeron took over the program in 2016.

LSU now travels to No. 6 Florida (8-1) in a rescheduling of an Oct. 17 matchup postponed as a result of the Gators' limited numbers because of COVID-19 tests and quarantines.

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