Tigers, Tide tangle to get turnt up in the SEC West race

Almost a month ago after then-No. 8 Tennessee led unranked LSU from start to finish in a 40-13 SEC beatdown in Tiger Stadium, there was a sense of dread when trying to find winnable games on the Tigers’ remaining schedule.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels was still reluctant to throw the ball downfield. LSU’s special teams remained awful. There were continued assignment busts in the Tigers’ secondary.

Looking ahead, there was hope LSU wouldn’t be embarrassed in Tiger Stadium in November when probably then-unbeaten Alabama would come to town.

Then, it finally happened.

Daniels gained confidence in his receivers and began firing bullets into tight coverage. The Tigers’ special teams finally stopped self-destructing. Secondary coverage improved because better communication between the players as well as the sideline defensive calls to plays.

Two back-to-back 45-point performances resulting in SEC wins over Florida and Ole Miss later, the Tigers (6-2 overall, 4-1 SEC West) stunningly find themselves ranked 10th by the College Football Playoff committee when they take on No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC West) Saturday night at 6:10 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.

“As we get into Week 9 for both teams, it's about what your players' strengths and weaknesses are,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “It’s knowing your team and knowing what your team can execute at a higher level.

“The good coaches now have settled into 'Here's what we do, let's go do it well, and we have to go stop it.’ I think we're (LSU and Alabama) both going to do the things that we do.

“Yeah, there might be a wrinkle here or there because of self-scouting and we might have had a tendency here or there and they may have had a tendency. And we're going to try to break a couple of those, and they're going to try to break a couple of theirs.

“But I think, by and large, we know our strengths and weaknesses, and now it's about putting your kids in a good position where they can play fast and free and physical and be the best version of themselves going into November.”

LSU punter Jay Bramblett, who transferred this season from Notre Dame after Kelly left the Fighting Irish to join the Fighting Tigers, credited the jump in improvement after the Tennessee loss to more of his teammates buying into Kelly’s plan.

“There's a lot of people who want to do things their own way, and it doesn't work sometimes,” said Bramblett, a Tuscaloosa native. “You go back to what the coaches are asking you to do and it works.

"Coach Kelly has a process that speaks for itself. It works. Guys are starting to realize that and you feel like there's a confidence level right now that's just continuing to grow.”

LSU’s consecutive wins of 45-35 at Florida on Oct. 15 and 45-20 over Ole Miss in Tiger Stadium on Oct. 22 was just the second time in Tigers’ football history that LSU scored 45 points against back-to-back SEC opponents. The other time was in the Tigers’ 2019 15-0 national title run when they closed the regular season scoring 46 or more points in four straight SEC wins.

In Florida and Ole Miss wins in which LSU had 500 or more yards total offense in each game, Daniels was completed a combined 44 of 60 passes for 597 yards, 5 TDs and no interceptions. He also ran for 175 yards and 6 TDs on 7 carries.

“He (Daniels) is getting the ball to playmakers and letting them make plays,” said LSU pre-season All-American wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who broke out of his early season slump with 10 catches for 158 yards in the last two games. “We’re confident in our offense. We’ve had 45-point games back-to-back and we plan on doing it again.”

The Tigers are certainly not a polished offensive product. Their slow starts in their five SEC games – they’ve been outscored 54-10 in first quarters and trailed at halftime four times – has put a lot of pressure on LSU’s defense to keep the Tigers within striking distance at halftime.

LSU defensive coordinator Matt House’s halftime adjustments have been second-to-none. In Tigers’ four SEC wins, LSU has outscored opponents 76-17 in the second half allowing just two TDs (both at Florida).

"Coach House is very detailed in his work,” LSU defensive tackle Mehki Wingo said. “He comes in at halftime and tweaks different things. And I'd say we're pretty good at adjusting.”

LSU’s defensive mission vs. Alabama is preventing Tide QB Bryce Young from taking over the game with his sheer playmaking ability. Young, last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, averages 313.75 yards total offense in SEC play, just ahead of Daniels’ 308.40.

Alabama’s offense, though averaging 41.4 points and 487.8 yards total offense in SEC games, has been somewhat disjointed since Young hurt his shoulder in the first half of Alabama’s 49-26 win at Arkansas Oct. 1.

He sat out ‘Bama’s 24-20 home win vs. Texas A&M on Oct. 8, then threw for 455 yards and two TDs in the Tide’s 52-49 loss at Tennessee on Oct. 15 before passing for 249 yards and two TDs in a 30-6 home win over Mississippi State on Oct. 22 leading into last week’s open date.

"I think it's a little bit unfair to judge anything that's happened in the last couple of weeks with our offense because we've been a little bit left-handed,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Bryce got hurt in the Arkansas game. He basically hadn't been able to practice for three weeks and play pretty well in two games.

"But the continuity of what you do and how you build confidence and timing has been a little bit distorted. Probably the most important guy on any team is the quarterback, and most importantly on our team because of the quality of player Bryce is. So, we've been a little bit out of sorts.”