BATON ROUGE, La. — Jihaad Campbell made all of Death Valley feel his presence, propelling No. 11 Alabama to a 42-13 victory over LSU while constantly killing off any bit of momentum the home crowd could muster up.

The Crimson Tide linebacker came up big several times Saturday night, keeping the Tigers offense out of the end zone while forcing a crucial turnover in the second quarter.

After Alabama found the end zone on its opening drive, LSU’s offense got off to a fast start of its own. Running back Caden Durham ripped off a 45-yard run, and LSU found itself with a first-and-goal from the Alabama 5-yard line. The expected track meet was on until Campbell tripped up the Tigers before they could get off the blocks.

Following a 1-yard loss and an incompletion, the Alabama linebacker provided his first clutch moment of the evening, breaking up a third-down pass from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to receiver Kyren Lacy at the goal line to force LSU to settle for a field goal. That stop would set the tone for the Tide’s defense for the remainder of the evening.

“It was definitely big,” Campbell said. “It all goes back to just watching the film, knowing you know Kyren Lacy and all those guys, what routes do they do down there in the red zone and on the goal line, so I mean big stop for the team, and you know it's just three and not so we get off the field.”

The early game pass breakup wasn't the only big play from Campbell during the Crimson Tide’s trip to Baton Rouge. Halfway through the second quarter, an Alabama drive was abruptly ended when Jam Miller was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 conversion attempt. On the ensuing play, Nussmeier rolled out to his left side and met Campbell in the backfield, who stripped the ball from the LSU signal caller’s hands.

“It was a blitz that I went on,” Campbell said. “We made a backer check. I went to get him, and I thought the center was going to block me, so I kept going. He rolled out, I sacked him, and I told somebody else—I didn’t even know he fumbled the ball. If I’d known, I would have gone to grab it, but I didn’t.”

Campbell also didn’t know at the time of the strip sack that Alabama’s offense would punch the ball into the endzone just three plays later. For those not keeping track, the pass breakup and Strip by Campbell ended up creating an 11-point swing in Alabama’s favor, who led by 15 at the halftime break.

Campbell has been crucial this season for the Crimson Tide. He and his linebacker partner, Deontae Lawson, are tied at the top of the tackle leaderboard with 66 each. Lawson, who also forced a turnover against the Tigers, says he and Campbell push each other to improve.

“Jihaad is my dog, man,” Lawson said. “We feed off each other. We come to work every day knowing we call ourselves the best in the country for a reason, so we’ve got to show it.”

As the game against the Tigers wore on, Campbell continued to make big plays for the Tide defense., Campbell and teammate DaShawn Jones came up with a third-down sack in the third quarter as Alabama held a 22-point lead; the share of a sack forced the Tigers to punt. In the fourth quarter, Campbell totaled three more tackles, including a QB hurry, while Alabama’s offense continued to capitalize on the defense’s success.

Campbell’s versatile performance against LSU was a microcosm of his 2024 season — his versatility as both a pass rusher and coverage linebacker has stood out. Pro Football Focus says Campbell is the No. 3 coverage linebacker (83.3) and the No. 7 pass rush linebacker (78.5) in the SEC.

"We went into the game with violent intentions—that was the whole mindset,” Campbell said. ”We didn’t care about their stadium, their fans, or how they brought the crowd. We just cared about us, playing as a whole unit, going out there, and smashing people in the face."

Campbell's strong performance has helped not only Alabama but also the linebacker's NFL Draft stock. The junior has recently risen into being considered among the top linebackers in the 2025 draft class, though Alabama will hope he will be playing in a crimson Jersey until late January.