Victory/Late Shift Open Thread

It was every bit as stressful as we imagined it would be, but Alabama ultimately got it done against LSU to all but clinch the SEC West.

They should have taken a lead into the break, but reserve safety Kristian Story inexplicably gambled for an interception with 5 seconds left when a tackle likely ends the half. Alas, LSU punched it in to tie the game at 21 and the shootout was on. We were told all week that Alabama absolutely could not win a shootout.

Guess what? They won a shootout!

I’ve been comparing Jalen Milroe’s skillset to Lamar Jackson all season, and for one night that’s exactly what he looked like. As a passer, he was a bit more erratic than he has been for much of the season, but he finally took full advantage of his running ability and it was pure fun to watch. Alabama managed to get the interior run game going in the second half as well.

Make no mistake, the LSU defense that took the field this week was basically a pretty good FCS unit so we can’t get too cocky about what we saw, but it sure seemed that an identity was forged, and I’m liking the trend of closing games out strong.

The Tide defense was lit up by an elite offense and there were certainly mistakes made, but LSU has been lighting up everyone. Daniels is the latest QB to get five full years as a starter thanks to COVID, and he’s been dominant. He obviously went down in the second half, and here’s hoping he is OK. Same to Jaylen Key.

If you so desire, FS1 has the rest of Oregon State vs Colorado while ESPN has Arizona vs UCLA.

Roll Tide.