Alabama 31, LSU 13: Russell's three touchdown passes erase a late deficit
Alabama trailed 13-10 late in the third, then Keelon Russell threw three touchdown passes as LSU outgained the Tide but lost two turnovers.
LSU had the ball, the yards and a 13-10 lead with under three minutes left in the third quarter at Tiger Stadium. Alabama took the rest of the game. Keelon Russell threw touchdown passes on three straight scoring drives, and the No. 5 Tide won 31-13 over No. 14 LSU despite being outgained 457 to 285.
The gap between the stat sheet and the scoreboard came down to two things: LSU turned it over twice and Alabama did not, and LSU's 380 passing yards produced no touchdowns through the air.
How it was won
The first half was a kicking contest with one exception. Conor Talty opened the scoring with a 43-yard field goal at 10:40 of the first quarter, and LSU's S. Starzyk answered from 23 yards at 4:48. Alabama's only touchdown of the half came at 8:23 of the second quarter, a 1-yard run by R. Coleman-Williams, and the Tide went to the break up 10-3.
LSU pulled closer early in the third when Starzyk hit from 41 yards at 11:43. At 2:44, Dilin Jones ran in from 5 yards to give the Tigers a 13-10 lead.
It lasted a little over two minutes. Russell found J. Ford for a 7-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left in the third to put Alabama back in front, 17-13. In the fourth he hit C. Morgan for 25 yards at 9:44 and Kaleb Edwards for 4 yards at 6:27. That was 21 straight points, and LSU did not score again.
Russell finished 17 of 24 for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and added 25 yards on eight carries. Rico Scott caught three passes for 67 yards; Edwards had three for 50 and the final touchdown. The ground game was modest: Trae'shawn Brown ran 11 times for 35 yards, and Alabama totaled 79 rushing yards with 13 first downs and a 3-of-11 mark on third down.
LSU moved the ball far more often. Sam Leavitt completed 35 of 47 passes for 380 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Jackson Harris caught 11 passes for 166 yards and Trey'Dez Green caught 10 for 85. The Tigers had 27 first downs and held the ball for 32:45. But they rushed for 77 yards, with Jones carrying 17 times for 56 and Leavitt 15 times for 16, went 5 of 14 on third down, and settled for field goals twice before their only touchdown.
Against the number
LSU closed as a 6-point favorite, so Alabama covered and won outright. The Tide closed at +180 on the moneyline, with LSU at -218.
The total closed at 54.5. With 44 points scored, the game went under. The first half produced 13 points, and even Alabama's late run left the total well short.
Odds and line history are on the game page.
What's next
Alabama moves to 7-2 with its second straight win, following a 31-20 result against Texas A&M. Its two losses came to Tennessee and Georgia in October. The Tide play at Vanderbilt on Saturday, November 14, on SEC Network.
LSU falls to 6-3 after its two-game winning streak ended. Its other losses came at Ole Miss and at Kentucky, the latter by a point. The Tigers stay home on Saturday, November 14, to face No. 7 Texas on ABC.
