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Game 9, Year 1 (2027 season): #13 LSU Tigers at #1 Alabama Crimson Tide
#13  35 -- X6-3 (4-2)
x#1  43 -- 10-0 (7-0)
QB Rob Mason expressed his frustration after the first of two 4th quarter interceptions he threw which hindered LSU's golden opportunity at a historical comeback.
Despite a 4 touchdown effort by freshman RB Scottie Rodgers, costly mistakes doom #13 LSU in heartbreaking 43-35 loss at the hands of #1 Alabama | Tigers unable to stop RB Alex Moore as junior college transfer gashes defense for 240 rushing yards and a back-breaking late touchdown to help Crimson Tide clinch SEC West title | With first place atop the division on the line, QB Mason's 3 critical interceptions help doom LSU to yet another year without a championship | Geezy: This one will hurt for awhile
Tuscaloosa, AL -- On so many occasions this season, LSU has been able to buckle down in crunch time and come away with the plays necessary to win in the end. Unfortunately that did not happen on Saturday night as #1 Alabama was able to hold off a fourth quarter rally by the Tigers to come away with a 43-35 victory at Tuscaloosa and clinch another SEC West division title. Crimson Tide RB Alex Moore rushed for 240 yards yards on 26 carries, and his 85-yard fourth quarter touchdown helped the Tide hang on after nearly blowing a 33-14 fourth quarter lead.  LSU defensive coordinator Charles Kelly had no answer for RB Alex Moore all game long, as the juco transfer gashed the Tigers defense for a career-high 240 yards on 26 carries and helped Bama dominate the time of possession battle.
LSU, who came into the contest with an opportunity to take over first place in the SEC West division race with a win, took its first and only lead of the game when freshman RB Scottie Rodgers scampered 80 yards untouched for a touchdown to make the score 7-6 in the first quarter. The big play was an omen for things to come on the evening for the former 4-star recruit out of Marksville, Louisiana, but unfortunately his team's one-point lead would not last very long.
Alabama PK Tim Thomas, who finished the game 5 of 6 on field goals, connected on a 46-yard second quarter kick that gave the Tide a 9-7 lead with 6:17 to go until the half, a lead they'd never relinquish the rest of the game.
Later in the second quarter, after the two teams traded possessions, Alabama would begin to start to pull away, by way of its defense. Junior DE Joshua Williams' tip of LSU QB Rob Mason's pass would result in the ball landing in the hands of LB Ryan Hart, and the redshirt senior returned the ball for a 41-yard score to increase his team's lead to 16-7.
A few possessions later, after missing a 58-yard attempt with two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Thomas' 46-yard field goal just before halftime pushed the Crimson Tide's lead to 19-7 at the break, a lead that was mostly attributed to Williams and Hart's big defensive play.
 
The momentum of the game shifted sharply into the Tide's favor when DE Joshua Williams tipped QB Rob Mason's pass and it ended up in the awaiting arms of LB Ryan Hart, who returned the interception 41 yards for a touchdown that increased Bama's lead to 16-7 in the second quarter.
"We talk all the time about the things that could get you beat, and we did those things today with the turnovers," said LSU head coach D. Geezy, who as Tulane's coach prior to his arrival in Baton Rouge, is the only head coach in the nation to defeat Alabama since 2023.
Mason, who was a paltry 4 of 10 for 47 yards at halftime, was able to help lead his team on a 5-play 80-yard drive to start the second half. The possession culminated with a 40-yard touchdown run by Rodgers to cut the Tigers' deficit to 19-14. Rodgers finished the game with a career-high 173 yards on the ground, besting his 171-yard performance back in week two's 72-42 win over Texas Tech.
 It was a big day for both teams' running backs as LSU true freshman Scottie Rodgers rushed for 173 yards and 4 touchdowns, both career-bests.
Back-to-back touchdown passes by Alabama QB Matt Thompson - a 15-yard touchdown to WR Randy Payne and a sensational 58-yard hookup with star freshman WR Henry Oliver - helped push Bama's lead to 33-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Thompson finished the game 20 of 36 for 361 passing yards to go along with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
"Needless to say, it was a frustrating night for us on defense," said Tigers defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, whose unit gave up 622 total yards of offense on Saturday. "We come out in our base 4-2-5, and they shred us with the pass; we come out in nickel or dime, and they tear us up with the running game. We knew we'd have a tough time defending their speed in the slot if we ran too much base, but that cost us in the running game. There was nothing we could do it felt like; it was just that type of night."
Now down by 19 and with the game and their division title hopes on life support, LSU did what they have done so many times this year and began to rally, but on this evening, they kept running into road blocks.
Rodgers' 3-yard touchdown run, his third score of the game, cut the Tigers' deficit to 33-21 with 8:57 remaining. An interception by FS Trey Wade on Bama's next possession, his FBS-high sixth on the year, would give LSU the ball back deep in Alabama territory with a chance to make it a one possession game. However, Mason's off-target pass attempt to freshman WR Brady Carter Jr. was picked off easily by Bama senior CB Johnny Richardson, halting the Tigers' golden opportunity. The turnover eventually led to a 40-yard field goal by Thomas to make the score 36-21 with under six minutes to go. The mistakes for the junior signal-caller would not end there unfortunately.
Mason would throw yet another interception on his team's next possession, this one to Alabama senior SS Patrick Humphrey in the end zone, keeping it a 15-point game with 5:30 remaining. Thankfully, Mason's defense had his back as a few play later however, as CB Jerome Harmon's 46-yard interception return touchdown cut the Bama lead to 36-28 with 4:33 to go.
"Both Trey and Jerome's picks came on targets to #87, and this time we were ready for that s***," said LSU defensive backs coach Steve Ellis, referring to Payne, who finished with a game-high 9 receptions for 124 yards for the Tide.
Sadly, Harmon's big play would not be enough. Moore, who repeatedly gashed the Tigers throughout the evening for big gains, got his biggest when he broke loose for an 85-yard touchdown on the game's very next play from scrimmage following Harmon's pick-six, all but putting the contest away, making the score 43-28 with 4:17 to go.  Junior QB Rob Mason will always wonder what could have been if not for his three big interceptions thrown during Saturday evening's contest with the SEC West Division on the line.
The Tigers would not go away that easily, as Rodgers would go on to score his fourth touchdown of the game when he found the end zone from 3 yards out to make the score 43-35 with 3:00 left. However that would be the last time LSU possessed the football as Alabama went on a 9-play drive to milk the rest of the clock and would punch its ticket into the SEC Championship Game for the third time in four years while adding yet another year to LSU's conference championship drought, which will now span at a whopping 21 years.
"At the end of the day, to win this conference, you have to beat Alabama and Tulane, and we did neither this year," said Geezy. "There is no question about it; this one will hurt for awhile. But we will use this as fuel and we hope to be back in this same position again next year.
"In all, I'm proud of our guys. We showed a lot of heart tonight, especially when things were stacked against us. We just couldn't seal the deal in the end."
LSU (6-3) will travel to face rival Ole Miss (5-4) next week at Oxford. The Rebels will be looking to become bowl eligible with a win, while the Tigers will be hoping to rebound despite now being forced to play for nothing but pride.
"Although we didn't accomplish our goal today or our goal this year as far as winning the conference, we're not going to let this one game define our season," said Geezy. "We need to get back to work, and get ready to finish this year out strong. From our vantage point, we still have a lot of football left to play and still have a shot at 10 wins, something that hasn't happened for our program in a long time."
 Game Footage 
Our action picks up at the end of the third quarter with Alabama on top big 33-14, setting the stage for a furious attempt at a comeback by LSU.
Box Score
| LSU Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide | | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |  #13 LSU Tigers 6-3 (4-2) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 35 |  #1 Alabama Crimson Tide 10-0 (7-0) | 6 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 43 |
1st
: 33 yd FG by Thomas 6:10 -- 0-3
: 53 yd FG by Thomas 3:49 -- 0-6
: 80 yd TD run by S. Rodgers (Bryant kick) 3:38 -- 7-6
2nd
: 46 yd FG by Thomas 6:17 -- 7-9
: 41 yd interception return TD by Hart (Thomas kick) 1:38 -- 7-16
: 46 yd FG by Thomas 0:01 -- 7-19
3rd
: 40 yd TD run by S. Rodgers (Bryant kick) 7:10 -- 14-19
: 15 yd TD pass from Thompson to Payne (Thomas kick) 5:14 -- 14-26
: 58 yd TD pass from Thompson to Oliver (Thomas kick) 2:02 -- 14-33
4th
: 3 yd TD run by S. Rodgers (Bryant kick) 8:57 -- 21-33
: 40 yd FG by Thomas 5:54 -- 21-36
: 46 yd interception return TD by Harmon (Bryant kick) 4:33 -- 28-36
: 85 yd TD run by Moore (Thomas kick) 4:17 -- 28-43
: 3 yd TD run by S. Rodgers (Bryant kick) 3:00 -- 35-43
Game Statistics
#13 LSU
Code:
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
7-QB *Rob Mason(jr) 122.4 13 25 281 0 3
Rushing ATT YDS TD
33-RB Scottie Rodgers(fr) 13 173 4
7-QB *Rob Mason(jr) 7 -14 0
Receiving REC YDS TD
13-TE Lucas Rodgers(jr) 6 114 0
10-WR Russell Stephens(jr) 2 43 0
33-RB Scottie Rodgers(fr) 2 9 0
87-WR Joe Burnett(jr) 1 53 0
83-WR Chase Doyle(rs-jr) 1 36 0
1-WR Brady Carter Jr.(fr) 1 26 0 (2 kr, 48 yds | 1 pr, 1 yd)
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
8-FS *Trey Wade(jr) 14 12 2 1 0 1
92-DE Joel McFarland(sr) 9 9 0 4 1 0
99-OLB Will McNeal(fr) 6 6 0 2 1 0
6-CB Jerome Harmon(so) 4 4 0 1 0 1 (1 td)
90-DE Matt Manning(jr) 1 1 0 1 1 0
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
3-PK Ross Bryant(fr) 0 0 n/a n/a 5 5
Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 440
Rushing Totals: 20 att 159 yds 4 tds
Sacks Allowed: 4
3rd down conversions: 1-6 (16%)
4th down conversions: 0-0 (0%)
Offensive Turnovers: 3
Penalties: 3 for 30 yards
Time of Possession: 13:16
#1 Alabama
Code:
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
6-QB Matt Thompson(so) 147.0 20 36 361 2 2
44-RB Alex Moore(jr) 200.7 1 1 12 0 0
Rushing ATT YDS TD
44-RB Alex Moore(jr) 26 240 1
6-QB Matt Thompson(so) 8 -27 0
4-RB Tremayne Collins(rs-sr) 7 36 0
Receiving REC YDS TD
87-WR Randy Payne(rs-jr) 9 124 1
15-TE Mark Cain(jr) 4 64 0
44-RB Alex Moore(jr) 3 49 0
8-WR Henry Oliver(fr) 2 63 1 (1 pr, 7 ds)
5-FB Greg Simon(sr) 2 62 0
18-WR Steve Cox(fr) 1 11 0
27-WR *Willie Snyder(sr) 0 0 0
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
9-CB Johnny Richardson(sr) 7 5 2 0 0 1
93-DT Adam Tatum(sr) 4 2 2 3 2 0
1-MLB Ryan Hart(rs-sr) 3 2 1 0 0 1 (1 td)
20-SS *Patrick Humphrey(sr) 2 1 1 0 0 1
23-CB Brian Wood(so) 2 1 1 1 0 0 (4 kr, 72 yds)
11-RE Larry Shelton(fr) 1 1 0 1 1 0
91-DT Quinton Butler(sr) 1 1 0 1 1 0
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
10-PK Tim Thomas(rs-sr) 5 6 53 58 4 4
Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 622
Rushing Totals: 41 att 249 yds 1 td
Sacks Allowed: 3
3rd down conversions: 8-15 (53%)
4th down conversions: 0-0 (0%)
Offensive Turnovers: 2
Penalties: 7 for 60 yards
Time of Possession: 22:44
Photo Gallery
Bryant-Denny Stadium was absolutely lit for Saturday night's crucial SEC West contest.
Bama sophomore QB Matt Thompson (#6) was hyped up as he led his team out of the tunnel with a spot in the SEC Championship Game on the line.
Tigers QB Rob Mason had a rough night in Tuscaloosa, including being sacked on each of his team's first two offensive plays during an early three and out.
Senior LB Ryan Hart's interception off of a deflection was returned 41 yards for a score that put Bama up 16-7 in the second quarter and completely changed the tone of the game.
Speedy junior slot WR Randy Payne gave the LSU secondary fits all evening, amassing a career-best 9 receptions for 124 yards, including this 15-yard touchdown that made the score 26-14 in the third quarter.
In what is surely the first of many battles between the two of them, blue chip freshman WR Henry Oliver got the best of 4-star freshman CB Ryan Carter on this 58-yard touchdown that gave the Tide a commanding 33-14 third quarter advantage.
It was all smiles for the Alabama cheerleaders as their team looked well on their way to wrapping up the SEC West division, up big in the second half.
Alabama true freshman DE Larry Shelton, the nation's #1 high school recruit this past year, came away with a sack on Saturday, giving him a team-high 7 1/2 on the season.
As he has been for most of this season and for most of their careers together, TE Lucas Rodgers was Mason's favorite target on the night, hauling in 6 receptions for 114 yards.
SS Patrick Humphrey, a player head coach D. Geezy picked on last season as Tulane's offensive play-caller, got the last laugh against the veteran head coach when he came away with this fourth quarter interception in the end zone with 5:30 remaining and with Bama up 36-21.
True freshman LB Will McNeal brought down Thompson for a sack late in the third quarter, giving him a team-high 7 on the year. Unfortunately for the Tigers however, McNeal sprained his elbow on the play and was not able to return, and his services would be severely missed in the fourth quarter.
As he has done so often this season, junior nickel CB Jerome Harmon came up with a big play when his team needed it, this time stepping in front of Payne for an interception that was returned 46 yards for a touchdown that cut the Tigers' deficit to 36-28 late.
On his team's very next offensive play from scrimmage following Harmon's pick six, RB Alex Moore, a junior college transfer playing in his first season with Alabama, essentially put the game out of reach with this 85-yard touchdown that made the score 43-28 with 4:17 to go.
Mike the Tiger could do nothing but bow at the magnificent performance RB Scottie Rodgers put on as his fourth touchdown of the night cut LSU's deficit to 43-35 with just three minutes to go. Unfortunately it was too little too late though, as that would be the last time the Tigers possessed the football.
Alabama players rushed the field as the Tide secured their third SEC West division title in the past four seasons and appear to be poised for another possibly national title game shot.
Freshman CB Ryan Carter walked off the field dejected after his team's defense gave up over 600 yards of total offense and saw their SEC Championship dreams go up in smoke.
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Last edited by Deegeezy; 11-02-2019 at 12:02 PM.
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