TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One play can change the outcome of an entire game. Luckily for Alabama, starting cornerback Terrion Arnold was responsible for it.
Locked in a shootout with No.14 LSU, No. 8 Alabama's playoff hopes were in the balance as neither team could pull ahead for very long.
After scoring a touchdown to end the third quarter, the Crimson Tide had a seven-point lead going into the final quarter, but the Tiger offense was aiming to tie it up for the third time to continue the battle.
However, that’s when everything came to a screeching halt for LSU.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Daniels dropped back and delivered a pass that was tipped by junior linebacker Dallas Turner and intercepted by Arnold at LSU’s own 25-yard line.
“I saw the ball in the air and it was kind of like oh, tip drill,” Arnold said. “Honestly when I caught it, I really wanted to try to make them miss real quick, but I was like let me just hold the ball. Wrap up, secure, live to see another down.”
Arnold’s huge play set up Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense with excellent field position just outside of the red zone. The short drive resulted in a Jase McClellan 10-yard rush to extend the Crimson Tide lead to a 14-point margin in the blink of an eye.
Following McClellan’s touchdown, Alabama slammed the brakes on LSU throughout the rest of the matchup, not allowing another score as it cruised through the rest of the fourth quarter.
“When you’re playing a game like this, you got to encourage the defensive players to keep playing,” head coach Nick Saban said. “Of course, Dallas getting the tipped ball and getting the interception was huge in the game, and that’s how you got to play.”
In back-to-back performances, Alabama’s defense has played a stellar fourth quarter to secure a victory. After starting the quarter with a takeaway, the Crimson Tide went on to allow 53 yards in the final period to snuff out any chance of an upset.
This performance is following a shutdown of the Tennessee Volunteers in the fourth quarter two weeks ago where the Crimson Tide only allowed 83 total yards while also coming away with an interception.
“The fourth quarter is always going to show,” said redshirt senior linebacker Justin Eboigbe. “We have a standard for ourselves. It wasn’t much that coaches had to say that we didn’t say to ourselves and to each other.”
Arnold, Eboigbe, and the rest of the Alabama defense have a lot of momentum right now and it could certainly come in handy next weekend as the Crimson Tide travel to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats. A win on the road will clinch the SEC West and put Nick Saban’s squad back into a conference championship position.
