LSU posted 457 yards of total offense but failed to capitalize in the red zone, falling 31-13 to No. 5 Alabama on Saturday in Tiger Stadium, lsusports.net reported.
The Tigers won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, defending the south end zone in the first quarter. Alabama opened with an early offensive push as quarterback Russell used his legs to extend plays, picking up two 10-yard rushes and completing a 25-yard pass to Kaleb Edwards.
That 50-yard drive ended with a 43-yard field goal by Conor Talty, giving the Tide a 3-0 lead with 10:40 left in the first quarter.
LSU answered with a 14-play, 70-yard drive that stalled in the red zone. Scott Starzyk tied the game 3-3 with a 23-yard field goal at the 4:48 mark.
Early in the second quarter, LSU missed a 56-yard field goal attempt wide left. Alabama took over at their own 38-yard line and engineered an 11-play, 62-yard drive capped by a 1-yard pitch to Ryan Coleman-Williams for a touchdown.
The Tide reclaimed a 10-3 advantage with 8:23 remaining in the first half. Later in the half, LSU drove deep into Alabama territory, but opted to go for it on 4th-and-4. Leavitt’s pass was batted down at the 9-yard line, resulting in a turnover on downs and leaving the Tigers with only three points from two red zone trips.
LSU opened the second half with an 11-play, 53-yard drive, which stalled at the 22-yard line. Starzyk hit a 41-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 10-6 with 11:43 left in the third quarter.
At 2:44 in the third quarter, running back Dilin Jones capped a 90-yard, 11-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. The score gave LSU its first lead of the game at 13-10.
Alabama immediately responded with a 75-yard, five-play drive aided by a 57-yard completion from Russell to Rico Scott down to the LSU 18-yard line. On 1st-and-7, Russell found Josh Ford open for a touchdown, putting the Tide back ahead 17-13 with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.
Russell extended Alabama’s lead in the fourth quarter with a 25-yard touchdown strike to Cederian Morgan, making it 24-13 with 9:44 remaining. With 6:23 left to play, Russell sealed the victory by connecting with Kaleb Edwards for a 4-yard touchdown pass, finalizing the 31-13 score.
LSU returns to action next week for its final home game of the regular season, hosting Texas with a kickoff time still to be announced.
Earlier coverage: Alabama defeats LSU 31-13 at Tiger Stadium
