11/8/12 LSU Game
I had to take a few days to let the events of last Saturday night sink in before writing this blog, and even now, I’m not sure how I’m going to limit this one to my target length of a page and a half. I feel like I could take that long just to detail the last epic drive. Of course, that last drive never would have happened if not for a very tenuous defensive stand, and that stand never would have been necessary if not for a missed exchange near the goal line between McCarron and Yeldon, and that wouldn’t have been so crucial if not for an early missed wide open Amari Cooper on a deep seam route, …. The truth is, every play in this game was crucial, because for us to win the game at the end, we had absolutely no margin for error.
First, a brief recap of game. LSU started the scoring with a FG to take a 3-0 lead. Early in the second quarter, we had a tremendous 90+ yard drive to take a 7-3 lead, and after a few miscues in the kicking game for LSU, we drove for a TD right before halftime, taking a 14-3 lead into the break. I felt extremely good about things at that point. Honestly, I felt that LSU couldn't score enough to come back, but even if they did, we were moving the ball with enough efficiency to score as much as we needed to. The latter was true, but only barely.
With 7:20 left in the game, we were trailing 17-14, LSU had the ball at their 18, and their offense was absolutely chewing us up. They were consistently running the ball on first and second down, and then converting 3rd downs behind the inexplicably dominant QB Zach Mettenberger. Every time we had hope of stopping them, they would convert another third down, get another set of downs, and run some more clock. Before we knew it, it was down to the point where they only needed 1 first down to win the game. They started that series with another power run, gaining 3 yards and leaving a second and 7 at our 29. If things went according to script, they would run the ball again, leave a 3rd and 3, and then clinch the game with another 3rd down conversion. However, on that second down, with 2:32 left on the clock, our defensive line came up huge. First, Ed Stinson fought through the block of their RT and forced his way into the LSU backfield, causing LSU RB Jeremy Hill to slow down and redirect. That gave Jesse Williams time to track down Hill and grab hold of him the backfield. Brandon Ivory came in to clean up the tackle. When all was said and done, Hill was stopped for a 3-yard loss, and that left them with a 3rd and 10 at the 32. We called our last timeout and stopped the clock with 2:28 left. On third down, LSU coach Les Miles made what I consider to be a huge mistake by taking the ball out of Mettenberger’s hands, and instead ran Hill again for a 4-yard gain. Miles made another mistake by not going for it on 4th and 6, and LSU missed the 45 yard FG. That’s when it happened.
With 1:34 left on the clock, no timeouts, down by 3, with a QB who was playing one of the worst games he’s ever played, completing only 1 pass in the second half for 0 yards, on our own 28-yard line, in the toughest stadium in the nation against a defense that was playing out of its mind, we took the ball. What happened next will never be forgotten in the annals of Alabama football history. In a drive like this, every detail of every play matters. McCarron started it perfectly, hitting Norwood for an 18-yard completion. In fact, the pass was only 8 yards, but McCarron placed the ball such that Norwood was directed away from the two LSU defenders, allowing him to advance the ball an additional 10 yards. The next two plays were also completions to Norwood, and both were perfect passes. The next play was an incompletion to the end zone that was also perfectly thrown, and had Norwood kept his feet, I think it would have been a completion. So here we are; 2nd and 10, exactly one minute left, on the LSU 28. LSU decided to come with an extreme blitz, and our OC Doug Nussmeier evidently knew it was coming, because he called the perfect play; a screen pass to Freshman phenom TJ Yeldon. TJ caught the ball in the left flat, and LSU linebacker Minter had to redirect around Change Warmack, so he was a step behind Yeldon and couldn’t catch him. LSU safety Craig Loston had a shot at Yeldon, but TJ faked him out of his socks. From that point, it was clear sailing into the end zone and into the Alabama history books.
People want to focus on how LSU dominated us in the game, and in several aspects it’s true. However, I want to point out just how stacked the odds were against us in this game. First, it was in LSU dreaded Death Valley, universally accepted as the toughest place in America to play (they had a nation’s best 22-game home winning streak). Second, it was at night, where Death Valley becomes an entirely different thing all together. Finally, and most importantly, LSU had an off-week before playing us. So while we were playing the 11th ranked team, our top WR Amari Cooper was rolling his ankle, and our QB AJ McCarron was injuring his back, LSU was taking that extra week to rest up and game plan for us. I thought we would win going in, but I knew it would be tough for these reasons. No, I didn’t think it would be that tough!
So now after such an epic heavyweight match, we have to face the ultra-fast Johnny Football and the Texas A&M Aggies. Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen in this one. We should beat them, but if we’re a step slow after Saturday’s slugfest, if will be tough to slow those guys down. A&M plays an ultra-aggressive defense that is designed to shut down the running game at all costs, so AJ is going to have to play well. If he does, we should win. If not, we might have to do something miraculous at the end, and between you and me, I don’t want to go through that again just yet!
So that’s it for now. As always, feel free to send me any questions or comments.
Kenny