Hello and Roll Tide!

Alabama defeated the LSU Tigers on Saturday night 20 to 9. The defense dominated LSU’s offensive line leading to a change at quarterback. Bama’s run game needs some work but Ty and the receiving core show that they can win games being one-dimensional. Kalen DeBoer is 2-0 in this rivalry as Alabama continues to dominate it in recent years. Alabama has won 13 of the last 15 matchups. Below are injury updates, depth notes, a Week 11 Recap, and Week 11 Storylines revisited. Let’s go!

Injury Updates

  • Kam Dewberry exited the game with an injury but is expected to return against Oklahoma
  • Danny Lewis was downgraded to OUT
  • DaShawn Jones is listed as PROBABLE
  • Cayden Jones and Qua Russaw were upgraded to QUESTIONABLE

Depth Notes

  • Jaeden Roberts took all 64 snaps at Right Guard, for the second week in a row
  • Gino VanDeMark and William Sanders split snaps at Left Guard after Kam Dewberry exited with injury
  • Ryan Williams only played 31 snaps (48%)
  • Jam Miller and Daniel Hill shared the backfield with Jam taking 31 snaps and Daniel taking 28
  • Kaleb Edwards saw a career-high 37 snaps
  • Dijon Lee has completely taken over the 2nd Corner role, out-snapping Domani Jackson 53 to 11
  • The D-line had a constant rotation with Tim Keenan, James Smith, and London Simmons all taking 24 snaps. Edrick Hill was not far behind with 21

Week 11 Recap: LSU Tigers

Offense: Alabama’s offense scored 20-points, but left many opportunities on the board. The running game was abysmal. Alabama rushed the ball 26 times averaging only 2.2 yards per carry. The Tide gained only 56 yards on the ground, the lowest since 2023 against Texas A&M. The offensive line isn’t generating any push up front. It seems that Daniel Hill is the best option at RB since his 6’2 244 lbs frame can fall forward for 3-yards. Alabama needs to do something to get the ground game going, whether that is pre-snap motion or outside sweeps. The inability to run allows defenses to drop 7-8 players into coverage, making Ty’s job more difficult. Even with the handicap, Ty was effective completing 21 passes for 277 yards and 1 touchdown. He did miss some big-play opportunities, but made a lot of impressive throws to lead the Tide to Victory. Alabama received the ball with under 1 minute left in the first half and Ty delivered two perfect throws to complete a 3-play 66-yard touchdown drive. First, he connected with Lotty Brooks for a 53-yard gain. Then, he found Ryan Williams in the endzone, fitting a perfect ball between zone defenders. Ty did lose a fumble, something that has become a bit of a trend lately. He shows good pocket awareness but sometimes holds onto the ball too long. Once again, Germie made a lot of big plays when needed. His 3 catches totaled 79 yards, resulting in 2 first downs. Josh Cuevas had a career day. His 4 catches and 58 yards are both career highs at Alabama. Cuevas is a reliable receiver and has already surpassed his receiving totals from a year ago. Pass protection was good, allowing only 5 pressures and 1 sack. Alabama played 8 offensive linemen, but three of them played every snap (Kadyn, Parker, and Jaeden). The pass protection remains good and Ty is able to take advantage of clean pockets. However, they need to establish a running back if they are going to compete for the SEC Championship.

Defense: Alabama’s defense continues to be fantastic. Kane Wommack deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the progress that they have made each week. People discuss Kalen’s black hoodie, but I think Kane’s black jumpsuit on the sideline deserves some credit too. Bama limited LSU’s offense to 5 of 14 on 3rd down. LSU made 4 trips to the Red zone, resulting in 3 field goals. Alabama is currently 6th in the nation allowing scores on 70.83% of red zone attempts. The defense was relentless, creating havoc for LSU’s offense. Bama created 8 pressures on LSU quarterbacks and recorded 3 sacks. Additionally, Bama forced 3 fumbles and recovered two of them. Along the line, Yhonzae Pierre caused havoc once again. He recorded 2 sacks and forced a fumble. LT Overton was productive, recording a sack and tackle for a loss. The middle linebackers had a great game combining for 21 tackles. Nikhai Hill-Green was very effective, recording a tackle for a loss, forcing a fumble, and recovering a fumble. The secondary was flying all over the place, breaking up screens, preventing outside runs, and deflecting passes. Dijon Lee beat LSU’s favorite red zone threat, Trey’Dez Green on a 50/50 ball in the endzone. Trey’Dez is 6’7, a matchup nightmare but Dijon was up for the task. Bray Hubbard and Red Morgan played with high effort, hitting ball carriers at full speed. Alabama’s defense looks like they can handle any task in front of them.

Special Teams: Lotzier Brooks returned two kickoffs averaging 19-yards per return. He didn’t improve field position, but it is good to see him getting comfortable with taking it out of the endzone. Cole Adams had a rare punt return, improving field position by 12-yards. Conor Talty continues to be inconsistent. Conor made kicks from 45-yards and 44-yards but missed an attempt from 26-yards. Blake Doud had yet another productive day punting. Despite his 40-yard average, all 3 of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He is heating up at the right time, helping flip field position when the offense leaves the field.

Week 11 Storylines Revisited

Home field Advantage: Alabama improved their home win-streak to 17, the longest in the FBS. The defense stopped LSU repeatedly with 100,000 voices behind them. DeBoer improves to 12-0 at home while coaching the Crimson Tide. Bryant-Denny Stadium does not get enough recognition when talking about the toughest places to play.

Rest vs Rest: It appears that Alabama prepared better than LSU over the BYE week. Alabama was prepared for LSU’s sub-par offensive line and immobile quarterback. LSU clearly did not prepare anything to catch Alabama off guard. They decided to bench Nussmeier even though he was 18 of 21 for 121 yards. His lack of mobility was an issue, one that they could have anticipated. Instead, they brought in the backup Michael Van Buren Jr. who couldn’t find his footing. Alabama prepared better during their time off and out coached the LSU staff.

Win in the Trenches: Although they were unable to establish the run, Alabama did win in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Pockets were clean for Ty to operate and both Nussmeier and Van Buren Jr. were under constant pressure. Alabama may not have won in dominant fashion, but they were the better units up front.

Program not Coach: Rather than rallying together as a result of Brian Kelly’s firing, LSU looked lost. Their offense was unable to generate many big plays. The team clearly lacked confidence when they took out long-time starter Garrett Nussmeier. Van Buren Jr. was unable to get anything going, completing 5 of 11 passes. Alabama’s efforts quickly distinguished any fire LSU came onto the field with.

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Roll Tide -Jake