Alabama's Keelon Russell carries the offense, but his decisions under pressure loom over LSU

Keelon Russell won Saturday's game for Alabama, and he nearly gave part of it away. The young quarterback completed 19 of 30 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-20 win over Texas A&M. Two of those scores came in the fourth quarter, when the Crimson Tide outscored the Aggies 14-0. He also threw an early interception that let Texas A&M back into the game. Alabama now has a bye week before it goes to No. 15 LSU, and how Russell handles a broken play has become the biggest open question about this offense.

Roundtable Sports columnist Hannah Stephens argues that Russell's next step is learning when a play is dead. In some of those moments, throwing the ball away beats trying to extend the play and turning second-and-10 into second-and-18. A to Z Sports made the same point about the interception. Russell would have done better to take the sack and punt than to hand the Aggies a chance in the red zone. Both outlets also credited his deep passing with carrying Alabama through the second half. Rico Scott caught six passes for 156 yards, and the tight ends Marshall Pritchett and Kaleb Edwards each caught a touchdown pass.

The margin for error matters because Russell has had almost no help from the ground game. Alabama ran for about 70 yards against Texas A&M at under three yards per carry. Russell tied Daniel Hill for the team lead with nine carries. The offensive line is also losing a starter. A to Z Sports reported that guard Will Sanders is expected to be out for a while. Kalen DeBoer said the absence is "not a week or two; it could be a couple more than that." Center Racin Delgatty has also been out, and his return is the main hope for fixing the run game.

Russell's season totals on ESPN show both sides. He is completing 67 percent of his passes for 2,057 yards at 9.3 yards per attempt, with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also been sacked 22 times. The problems have shown up mostly away from Tuscaloosa. In three road games he has thrown four of his five interceptions and taken 12 of the 22 sacks. Against Tennessee he was sacked five times and intercepted twice.

What it means for LSU

Alabama is 6-2 and has scored at least 45 points in five of its eight games. Its two losses came when the offense stalled. The Tide scored 17 against No. 2 Georgia and 10 at No. 14 Tennessee, the only two times this season it was held under 30. The Texas A&M win ended that two-game skid. Saturday, November 7, in Baton Rouge on ABC, will be Alabama's fourth road game and its third against a ranked opponent in four weeks.

The Tide are 2-1 on the road. They won at Kentucky and No. 16 Mississippi State with plenty of room, then lost by 16 in Knoxville once the pocket broke down. Against LSU, Alabama will likely be without Sanders and is still searching for a run game. That leaves the offense leaning on Russell's arm again, and on whether he picks his risks better than he did in Knoxville. He has shown he can make the big throw. The two weeks before Baton Rouge are his chance to cut the plays that set Alabama back.