LSU moved the ball all afternoon but couldn’t finish drives, and No. 5 Alabama pulled away for a 31-13 win Saturday in front of 102,321 fans at Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers outgained the Crimson Tide 457-285 but came away with just one touchdown. LSU turned it over on downs at the Alabama 9 before halftime, missed a 56-yard field goal and finished 0-for-4 on fourth down.
LSU grabbed its first lead late in the third quarter when Dilin Jones powered in from 5 yards out, capping an 11-play, 90-yard drive for a 13-10 edge with 2:44 left in the period. It lasted barely two minutes. Keelon Russell hit Rico Scott for 57 yards to set up a 7-yard scoring toss to Josh Ford, and Alabama led 17-13 with 40 seconds left in the third. Russell added fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 25 yards to Cederian Morgan and 4 yards to Kaleb Edwards to put it away.
Russell finished 17-of-24 for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Sam Leavitt completed 35 of 47 passes for 380 yards with one interception, and Jackson Harris caught a career-high 11 passes for more than 160 yards. Jones ran for 56 yards on 17 carries, Scott Starzyk made field goals of 23 and 41 yards, and TJ Dottery led the defense with nine tackles.
LSU (6-3, 3-3 SEC) plays its final home game of the regular season next week against Texas, with kickoff time to be announced.
Photo: LSU Athletics
