An upset was brewing. The student section was ready to rush the field. The party was just beginning in Baton Rouge. Another Saturday night road opponent was about to see it’s dreams die a slow painful death.
Les Miles was about to beat the head coach he loves to beat the most — Nick Saibon. It hadn’t happened in a few meetings so winning this game would be sweet for Miles and LSU as it would undoubtedly end Alabama’s hopes at participating in the college football playoff in January.
Alabama was about to be defeated by LSU after Tide running back T.J. Yeldon fumbled and it was recovered by Tigers’ linebacker Kendell Beckwith at the Alabama 6-yard line.
There was 1:13 remaining in the game with scored tied 10-10. And even though Nick Saibon and Alabama had all three timeouts remaining, this seemed to be a sure thing for the Tigers. They had it wrapped up. Now all they had to do was score a touchdown and put all the pressure back on Alabama. Sure, a field goal would put them ahead, but it was first and goal on the 6-yard line. If you want to play with the big boys in the vaunted and highly touted SEC, you need to punch that in.
How certain was victory for LSU? So certain apparently that the public address announcer Dan Borne warned fans not to rush the field after the game.
Photo source: Instagram
And then a national television audience watched the choking begin right before their very eyes.
A certain victory would turn into one of the most agonizing defeats one could ever imagine.
On first and goal at the 6-yard line, LSU left guard Vadal Alexander committed what had to be the most stupid penalty of the year. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct which pushed LSU out of the red zone. And from that point forward, Miles instructed his offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to call conservative plays to set up a go-ahead field goal.
“I am going to want to look at the personal foul down on the goal line before I comment,” Miles said after the game about the penalty on Alexander. “If one of my guys did that, I am going to tell him, and I am going to be upfront. That is not what I am told, so I am going to investigate because that penalty changed the complexion of the game.”
One could argue that an official should not make a call in that situation. Much like basketball officials let players decide the game in the final minutes, the officiating crew should have let this one go as well. Replays show that Alexander did truly commit a foul but it wasn’t a pain-inflicting knock-you-on-your-butt kind of blow. In other words, no harm, no foul. Not in a game tied at 10 on a Saturday night game in Baton Rouge with two of the SEC’s finest and college playoff implications on the line.
But all that matters now is that it did happen. The flag was thrown. The offense was marched backwards.
LSU ran three plays on the ground to force Alabama to use their three timeouts. They then kicked a field goal with 50 seconds remaining to give them a 13-10 lead.
Many are now asking what happened to the ‘riverboat gambler’ as Miles has been called in the past. Well, the conservative play-calling probably has to do with the fact that his quarterback was 8-for-26 for 76 yards and an interception on the night. There was no way Miles could trust him in that situation.
And then things got worse. On the ensuing kickoff, Trent Domingue kicked the ball out-of-bounds giving Alabama great field position at their own 35-yard line. Dumb… stupid… crucial.
And then, an LSU defense that played great all night allowed Alabama quarterback Blake Sims to conduct a nine-play 55-yard drive that ended with a game-tying field goal which would send the game to overtime.
Alabama won the toss and scored a touchdown on their first possession. So what did LSU decide to do? Given the fact that their quarterback was less than average all night long, Cameron was surely going to go back to the ground game.
Four incomplete passes later, the game was over. And a national television audience is still shaking their collective heads.
Anything that could go wrong for LSU in the end, absolutely did.
But was it the fault of head coach Les Miles? In the end, he is the one who is ultimately accountable for his team’s conduct on the field. The unsportsmanlike penalty was the ultimate game-changer. But his decision to squib kick after the game tying field goal (which rolled out of bounds for a penalty), the awful defense on Alabama’s final two drives (including the one in overtime) and the four incomplete passes on offense in overtime were truly despicable.
There was one bit of good news after all was said and done. The public address announcer got his wish. No one rushed the field after the game.