LSU vs. Alabama: Just as Ugly as Their First Meeting

            Tonight's BCS National Championship was one of the most polarizing matchups in college football in recent memory. Fans were divided in the weeks leading up to the big game on whether this was a good matchup for the viewers. The teams with the two best defenses in NCAA Football were getting the chance to face each other in a rematch after LSU won 9-6 in early November thanks to four missed field goals by Alabama. For die-hard fans, what is not to like about the matchup? The game would close, low scoring, each team has a Heisman finalist, the defenses are almost NFL quality, and the head coaches on opposite sidelines are two of the greatest minds in the game. However, a touchdown would be a rare occurrence, the offenses would struggle to get past midfield, and it would be no surprise if Alabama's kicking woes were to continue. By the time the National Championship had reached the third quarter, I knew it was one of the most disappointing final games ever.
            While the majority of the time, a 15-0 lead is not considered dominant, but considering the circumstances that the game is winding down and LSU has yet to snap the ball on Bama's side of the field, the Crimson Tide are in complete control of the reigns. From LSU's first possession, it was clear Alabama was looking for revenge against the Tigers and setting the tone with its physical defense. LSU's first run attempt was stonewalled, Jordan Jefferson bobbled the snap two plays later, Les Miles' team went three and out, which forced them to punt. One of the few bright spots on the evening was punter Brad Wing, whose first kick went 59 yards and pinned Alabama on their own ten yard line. Uncharacteristically, Alabama came out of the gate being a pass-first offense. A.J. McCarron started out 3-3 on the Crimson Tide's first drive, exploiting LSU's defense through the short passing game.
            After exchanging punts, King sent another booming punt down the field for 54 yards, only to have Alabama speedster Marquis Maze make up 49 of those yards on his return. Sadly, Maze pulled his hamstring on the play and was forced to watch the rest of the game from the sideline. Wide receiver Darius Hanks slid to catch a pass from McCarron for the longest gain so far in the game, which help set up a Jeremy Shelley field goal. Alabama kept LSU off guard by sticking with passing play calls, which allowed them to move the chains frequently throughout the game. Bama's defense was manhandling LSU's offense and holding them to their own half of the field and forcing them to punt. LSU made way too many mistakes against a team the caliber of Alabama, including multiple botched snaps and  penalties that hurt the Tigers' momentum.
             Kevin Norwood had a leaping acrobatic catch over Tyrann Mathieu that led to a 49-yard field goal attempt fot Alabama. The Crimson Tide faked the kick, instead having the holder McCarron shovel pass the ball to Norwood for a first down by the slightest of margins. Bama's ensuing 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked by defensive tackle Michael Brockers, keeping the score to 3-0. Alabama continued to chip away at LSU's defense with first down pass plays, with a critical play coming on a screen pass to Hanks for nine yards.
           The story was not the same for the Tigers. With Jordan Jefferson playing the entire game, LSU could never establish an offensive rhythm and only made it into Alabama's half of the field late in the fourth quarter. Jefferson was horrendous running the option, which needed to work for LSU to have a chance to win the game. He struggled making Alabama's defensive ends commit to him or the running back and the Tigers lost yardage almost every time. Jefferson's only good plays were the few times he scrambled out of the pocket. His worst moment came in the third quarter when a play was breaking down and he shoveled passed the ball to his running back, who was blocking downfield, and it was picked off by C.J. Mosley, who was injured on the play.
            The story of the game was Alabama's defense controlling LSU's offensive possessions and McCarron getting his squad into field goal range for Shelley,  who was 5-7 on the night, to put the ball through the uprights. Suprisingly one touchdown was scored in the game when Alabama started one of their possessions at the 50-yard line and Trent Richardson bounced outside for a 34-yard touchdown run. Ironically, Shelley shanked the PAT off of the right goal post and the final score was 21-0.

Courtesy of http://sportsbore.com/college-football/roll-tide/

            Here are some of my thoughts on the game:

•   LSU may have proved tonight why a dual-quarterback system does not work--with two signal callers, each one gets half of the first team snaps and it is difficult to develop a rhythm on offense. Jefferson did not look good at all tonight and I bet many LSU fans are questioning Les Miles' decision to not play Jarred Lee.
• Alabama is very lucky that the game was not closer. Shelley missed two field goals and a PAT, which was the reason why they lost to the Tigers in November. Same story, just different result. I think the kicker position is way under valued in college football. There were at least half a dozen major losses this season because kickers could not put the ball through the uprights. Oklahoma State potentially lost a BCS Title Game-bid because of it. Stanford and Virginia Tech lost bowl games because of missed field goals. If I were Alabama, or any major program in the country for that matter, use one of your scholarships to land one of the best kickers in the country to avoid these scenarios in future years.
• Jordan Jefferson should go to the NFL combine as a safety prospect. Clearly his chances at getting drafted as a quarterback are as likely as the number of points his team scored tonight--zero. However, his injury-inducing hit on C.J. Mosley was a great tackle. If he can bottle up the rage he felt in that moment in every play, he may have a future on an NFL team's practice squad on defense.