ALABAMA OBLITERATES LSU IN TIGER STADIUM: THE LOWEST POINT OF THE BRIAN KELLY ERA???

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

FOLLOW US @ @LonnPhillips

Throughout an emphatic, embarrassing 42-13 home evisceration at the hands of Kalen DeBoer and Jalen Milroe's 6-2 Alabama outfit, LSU became the willing victims of Milroe's unstoppable legs, alongside the Tide's brutish physicality & bullying violence up front, in the backfield, from their secondary...it became quickly apparent Brian Kelly's Tigers weren't prepared for or wanted any part of Alabama's physical onslaught.

....it was an evening that began with near feverdream hype, plenty of expectation, 300+ recruits & their families in attendance, an epic early crowd atmosphere....

.....but the energy was vampirically drained out of Tiger Stadium within a ghoulish, anonymous first half performance filled with wasted red zone opportunities, a scandalous touchdown awarded to the Tide when Alabama's running back was clearly short of the goal-line, a crucial fumble by QB Garrett Nussmeier when the score was still 14-6 (following a much-needed 4th and 1 stop by Blake Baker's defense), drive-killing holding penalties by both Will Campbell & Emery Jones Jr, Nussmeier completing just 1 pass until 10 minutes into the 2nd quarter and unable to connect a single pass to any of his receivers for the entire first session, and worst of all, Baker's defense was powerless to stop QB Jalen Milroe's rushing devastation, racking up 98 yards on the ground during the 1st half alone......shoot, Alabama WR Ryan Williams even dropped a wide open would-be 2nd quarter touchdown due to the falling rain.

Facing a 21-6 halftime deficit & receiving the ball, LSU's offense went on a 14 play drive that included a pair of 4th down conversions & numerous gutty plays by Mason Taylor, Josh Williams & Aaron Anderson....only to end in a red zone interception by Alabama, the first of 2 Nussmeier interceptions & second of his 3 turnovers.

Once again, the red zone INT was another back breaking play which was then feasted upon by Alabama's offensive line, and the churning legs of Milroe, recording 185 rushing yards from 12 carries for 4 touchdowns, breaking loose easily for a 72 yard touchdown on 3rd and 9 to ice the game, as well as an opening, tone-setting 39 yard TD scamper.

Without much effort, Milroe eclipsed his numbers against Matt House's defense by 30 yards while equaling the same exact touchdown tally from a year ago....335 combined rushing yards & 8 rushing scores across 2 starting appearances vs LSU's defense under two different defensive coordinators.

Gutting Blake Baker's defense at every opportunity (and LSU's atrocious offense gave the Tide plenty), Alabama rushed for 311 yards on 48 carries, 6 rushing scores at an average of 6.5 per carry.

Alabama was 10/13 on 3rd down conversions while LSU hung around at 6/14, DeBoer's squad controlled the clock & the ball for over 33 minutes (7 minutes & 55 seconds more than the Tigers), forced Garrett Nussmeier into 3 back-breaking turnovers, all 7 of LSU's penalties arrived at the worst possible moments, Baker's defense forced 0 sacks, created only 3 tackles for loss, 0 turnovers, and worst of all, Brian Kelly's Tigers weren't merely incapable of rising to the challenge, they ran for the hills in abject fear.

Tonight is the definitive lowest point of Brian Kelly's 3 year tenure at LSU, a three year stretch defined by old habits & patterns beginning to emerge....ill-equipped, ill-conceived, poorly executed processes that continue to cost the Tigers on the biggest stage against the best opponents:

A nonstop slow starting, lackadaisical sluggishness at the beginning of games, finding themselves down double digit deficits in 18 outings during the Brian Kelly era; yes, LSU made 9 comeback wins during those 18 contests, yet the constant sluggish 1st half performances are catching up to the Tigers.

There's an inherent inability to run the football, even while basing much of the Sloan / Kelly offensive philosophy on physically dictating terms up front, LSU rarely control the tempo of proceedings in any way, shape or form.

We often witness a complete lack of discipline when it matters most, whether manifesting as penalties, special teams errors, horrific execution & glaring missed assignments, from walk ons to star players, as well as an inaction when urgent adjustments must be made, these patterns continue & are now firmly a theme whenever Brian Kelly's LSU take on marquee opposition.

Once again this fall, we're seeing a team that exposed itself as a group regressing under the bright lights against back to back SEC opponents, outscored 73-19 across the last 6 quarters of play, proving a sad but deadly honest truth:

This squad was never ready for CFP contention in 2024, this was a roster that flattered to deceive, losing twice already before November vs suspect squads, accomplishing just enough to keep themselves in the SEC Championship Game race....until this team and their staff ran away from the challenge....retreating into a weak, fragile shell...

This team is still figuring it out, a year away from true contention, okay, but I don't care who's hurt, who the favorites are, how much rain is pouring, how bad the playcalling may be, this is Tiger Stadium.....we witnessed the crowd emptying out at halftime....barely many left by the midway of the 3rd quarter.....what happened tonight was an atrocity....in fact, such was the wretched sight of this lifeless, corpse of a team that stood before us, many are already wondering if it is indeed the worst defeat ever suffered inside Tiger Stadium.......what a terrible way to celebrate Death Valley's 100th anniversary, by openly desecrating its hallowed field with an effort befitting a junior college team.

After tonight's overwhelming, punishing, embarrassing loss at home to first year Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide, how much trust & goodwill is left for Brian Kelly from the fanbase, alum, even the big name recruits lining the sidelines tonight?

More importantly, after an indefensible showing like we've just seen, I now have to ask how much faith and trust do the LSU players have in Coach Kelly???

Remember....this was a night where LSU didn't score a touchdown until the final seconds, preceded by an unbelievable scene where Jalen Milroe was rested on the sidelines at the 9 minute mark of the 4th quarter, another game vs a top rival where LSU's defense allowed 300+ yards on the ground, most stemming from the legs of a quarterback...........

Tonight vs Alabama will be remembered as a game where Head Coach Brian Kelly was exposed for his ingrained habits which have cost LSU since his first season, most egregiously via Brian Polian's disgusting special teams in Year 1, a historically poor defense by Matt House in his second, and now, a regressing team in all three phases during year 3, coached by a highly paid, high pedigree staff.....

On a night like this, Kelly must look in the mirror, needing an intensive face-lift of his own process....from roster management to how he coaches his team, the manner in which he prepares his players physically & mentally, while focusing less on being the CEO celebrity face of LSU's football brand; Instead, Kelly must get back to actually coaching football....

This is Brian Kelly's crossroads moment....

Going forward, if LSU's $100,000,000 / 10 year contract Head Coach doesn't learn from these harsh lessons stamped home in the wake of the Tigers' crumbling defeat, LSU will not be able to progress into a championship contending program under his leadership.

By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

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