Heisman watch: Jones takes the lead, Smith gaining steam
What we learned: Alabama shakes off adversity in blowout win
No. 1 Alabama’s revenge tour swept through Baton Rouge, La. over the weekend as the Tide whipped defending national champions LSU 55-17. The victory avenged last year’s defeat to the Tigers while clinching this year’s SEC West. Following this week’s game against Arkansas, Alabama will move on to face No. 6 Florida in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 19.
Now that we’ve had enough time to process last weekend’s victory let’s break down what went right and what went wrong. Welcome back to Monday Morning Quarterback where we revisit key sequences, evaluate players and analyze trends in Alabama’s performance.
GOOD: Alabama’s offensive line
Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith are still battling with Florida quarterback Kyle Trask for the Heisman Trophy, but Alabama’s offensive line could have locked up some hardware for its own Saturday night — or at least it should have.
The Tide’s big uglies continued to prove their the nation’s best, bullying the Tigers all night while allowing the offense to pile up 650 yards of total offense and 32 first downs. The line cleared the way for 265 yards on the ground and allowed just one sack, giving Jones and Smith time to tear apart LSU’s secondary.
“They’re a pretty good O-line,” LSU linebacker Jabril Cox said. “I have to give credit to them, they dominated up front for most parts of the game.”
Alabama was once again serving up pancakes, including this one by starting right tackle Evan Neal on LSU defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy. Neal led all Tide linemen with an 87.4 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus, including a team-high 89.3 run-blocking mark.
BAD: Alabama’s defensive lapses
For the fifth straight game, Alabama held its opponent to 17 points or fewer. Although, if Nick Saban is looking for areas of improvement — and rest assured he is — there’s a couple of big plays in the second quarter that need addressing.
