I got home last night from the gym excited to watch a great game of "big boy football" between Alabama and LSU. Problem is, only one team came to play big boy football. With all due credit to the LSU D, which was pretty excellent all day long, the Tigers just didn't bring the wood in the biggest game of the year. LSU fans the world around are still wondering what the hell Les Miles' game plan was for last night--if he had one, we never had a chance to see it, because LSU's offense simply could not stay on the field and exert their will on Alabama's D.
My suspicion is that Miles went into the game telling his team that, if they did exactly what they did in Tuscaloosa, they would come out victorious--play stout D, test the edges with sweeps and options, and hit a couple big plays downfield to keep the D honest. Not a bad plan, but it always pays to have a Plan B. After the first 2-3 series, it was abundantly clear that a) Alabama had prepared like crazy to defend the option and b) Jordan Jefferson was not running the option effectively. As Herbstreit pointed out on multiple occasions, Jefferson never successfully drew the challenge of the defensive end tracking him on the option. Instead, Jefferson always pitched early, allowing his poor running back to be swarmed by a gang of Bama defenders. I don't know the stats, but I would be surprised if the LSU option attack even gained one yard last night. Every play seemed to go for -2 or -4 yards. As an LSU fan, the lifeless option attack was supremely frustrating to watch. When the futility of the option became clear, LSU needed a different attack. Whether it's Jarrett Lee or power running or a bevy of quick slants and screens, something new needed to happen. Perhaps the most frustrating part of the game was seeing that LSU did not change course or try anything different. Repeatedly, LSU threw horizontally for 4 yard losses, ran options for 3 yard losses, and found themselves in third and long situations. With a QB whose greatest weakness has always been holding on to the ball too long, third and long is not a good situation. And as expected, every time Jefferson dropped back to throw, after 2-3 seconds, he was enveloped by the Alabama D line.
Now, as much as I can bitch about LSU having come with a shoddy plan and not executing, let's think about what Alabama did. In the national title game, they held the #1 team in the nation to less than 100 yards, only gave up FIVE first downs, and only allowed LSU to convert 2 of their 12 third down opportunities. On offense, Alabama did something no other team could all year--they threw on LSU repeatedly, and with success. Clearly, LSU came into the game so prepared to stop Trent Richardson, they gave no thought to AJ McCarron and his apparently underrated corps of wide receivers. McCarron shredded what we thought was one of the best secondaries to ever step on the field, and did it with seeming ease. Great game plan by Saban, using Alabama's year-long demonstrated success in the run game to set up early down play-action fakes all night long. And once Bama gained credibility in the air game, LSU was toast. At that point, every dropback had to be honored, opening up a lot of space for the run game. And what did we see at the end? Lacy and Richardson gashing the LSU front seven for multiple 10+ yard runs and a devastating TD run to seal the game. In my opinion, Alabama put together a great game plan and played just about as close to a perfect game as they possibly could have. Kudos to them.
From this LSU fan, there is no question who the best team in the nation is after last night's display. In every facet of the game, Alabama outshined LSU. Even in the first meeting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama looked like the more dangerous team; LSU just managed to scrap out a win in a hard-fought FG fest. So, good for Alabama. But watch out for LSU--they have just about that entire D returning, and have got a gunner (and a Gunner) at QB coming in next year.
