TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — No. 4 Alabama delivered its best defensive effort in Southeastern Conference play this season and beat LSU 20-9 on Saturday night, keeping the Tigers out of the end zone for the first time since the 2012 national championship game.
The Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0 SEC, No. 4 CFP) allowed just 13 first downs and 232 yards while winning its eighth consecutive game. Alabama extended its home winning streak to 17 games, the longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and remained on track for a spot in the league title game and the College Football Playoff.
“I feel like the defense has been pretty solid,” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “There’s less of the explosive plays and guys are fitting their gaps. We missed a few opportunities with the ball on the ground or in the air. I like the way the defense is playing and they’ll go back to work tomorrow.”
Ty Simpson completed 21 of 35 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown for the Crimson Tide, but he had several missed opportunities on downfield throws that could have put the game away.
“I think our guys practiced hard,” DeBoer said. “There’s just some things we can do better to separate ourselves in the third quarter when we have a chance to put a team away. There’s been a couple games now where we haven’t done that and we need to get better at it.”
Garrett Nussmeier completed 18 of 21 passes for 121 yards for LSU (5-4, 2-4), but he was benched in the third quarter in favor of sophomore Michael Van Buren, who completed 5 of 11 passes for 52 yards in relief.
It was a disappointing debut for LSU interim coach Frank Wilson, who took over when Brian Kelly was fired. The Tigers were penalized 10 times and were limited to nine points in four red-zone trips as they lost to the Crimson Tide for the third straight year.
“I thought (Nussmeier) did some good things early on,” Wilson said. “As we got into the depths of the game, we just thought it was an opportunity to change up and throw them off.”
A relatively modest performance by Alabama’s offense — 344 total yards — was boosted by explosive plays. Simpson completed four passes of 30 or more yards in the first half; LSU had only given up five all season before Saturday. However, getting a run game that only mustered 56 yards back on track will be critical late in the season and potentially in the playoff.
“We missed opportunities that will help open up the box,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got to do a better job blocking and better job falling ahead for yards. Those extra yards can hurt them. We’ve got to give the running backs better lanes and we’ve certainly got to be better than we were.”
Poll implications
Alabama should hold strong at No. 4 in the next AP Top 25 poll since Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M all won.
The takeaway
LSU: The Tigers have lost three in a row and four of five. With three games remaining and a quarterback change, questions will arise about who will start for the remainder of the season.
Alabama: It wasn’t a dominant showing, but the Tide avoided an upset. They control their path to the SEC championship game with two conference games left.
Injury update
LSU receiver Nic Anderson left in the third quarter because of a knee injury. He returned to the sidelines in the fourth on crutches.
Up next
LSU hosts Arkansas next Saturday.
Alabama hosts No. 11 Oklahoma next Saturday.
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