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Defense handles Tigers up front and in the air
Terrin Waack | Special to TideSports.com
Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) breaks up a pass in front of LSU wide receiver Malachi Dupre (15) and wide receiver D.J. Chark (82).
Gerald Herbert | AP
BATON ROUGE, La. ā There wasnāt just one running back the University of Alabama defense had to worry about swallowing during its 10-0 beating of LSU. There were two.
Junior Leonard Fournette now has a Tigers mini-me in sophomore Derrius Guice. Together, the two have dominated LSUās running game this season, combining for 1,291 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
āI feel like this game is all about the trenches,ā UA defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinsonsaid. āYou have to come out here with your head on straight because itās a physical game.ā
The Crimson Tide won the battle.
Compared to his prior average of 8.1 yards per carry, Fournette downgraded to just 2.1. Guiceās average played out to be 4 yards per carry, but he had just two attempts. He was used to averaging 8 yards per touch.
LSUās veteran back was Alabamaās main threat. Fournette was the main focus of UA's preparation.
āWhen you play a great player like that, everybody has to really focus on doing their job. Our guys did it last year,ā coach Nick Saban said. āWe played a lot of the same stuff we played a year ago.ā
Fournette averaged 1.6 yards per carry against the Crimson Tide last season.
It all started with a 3-yard run by each back. Fournetteās short burst came during LSUās second drive. Guiceās came during the next possession. Then, Fournette went on to finish with 35 yards on 17 carries. Guice produced far less, with 8 yards on two carries. As for their longest dashes, Fournette had a 9-yard run, while Guice had a 5-yarder.
āHonestly, itās just about dominating the line of scrimmage,ā defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said.
Throughout the first half, LSU notched only five plays for more than 5 yards. It had 100 yards over the course of 33 plays and five first downs.
During the second half, the Tigers added only 25 more offensive yards for an overall 125. It managed just one more first down and three more plays for more than five yards.
In order to get to that point, LSU quarterback Danny Etling completed 11 of 24 passes for 92 yards. He also threw a fourth-quarter inception, which was snagged by defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was filling in at safety after former starter Eddie Jacksonsustained a season-ending injury.
Linebacker Ryan Anderson caused the rogue pass after rocking Etling as the Crimson Tide blitzed.
āThank God I got to him right in time,ā the 6-foot-2, 253-pounder said.
In addition to the pass breakup, Anderson made six total tackles. He also had a sack.
āYou live to get those types of licks on a quarterback,ā Anderson said.
Alabama recorded five sacks and three quarterback hurries. There were four pass breakups, too.
Linebacker Reuben Foster led the Crimson Tide with 11 total tackles. Defensive back Marlon Humphrey followed with eight, then linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton with seven.
āWe have some pretty hateful guys that play defense around here, that are pretty good competitors,ā Saban said. āWhen they get challenged a little bit, they usually respond, and I thought they responded really well tonight.ā
TideSports.com - Defense handles Tigers up front and in the air
Terrin Waack | Special to TideSports.com
Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) breaks up a pass in front of LSU wide receiver Malachi Dupre (15) and wide receiver D.J. Chark (82).
Gerald Herbert | AP
BATON ROUGE, La. ā There wasnāt just one running back the University of Alabama defense had to worry about swallowing during its 10-0 beating of LSU. There were two.
Junior Leonard Fournette now has a Tigers mini-me in sophomore Derrius Guice. Together, the two have dominated LSUās running game this season, combining for 1,291 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
āI feel like this game is all about the trenches,ā UA defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinsonsaid. āYou have to come out here with your head on straight because itās a physical game.ā
The Crimson Tide won the battle.
Compared to his prior average of 8.1 yards per carry, Fournette downgraded to just 2.1. Guiceās average played out to be 4 yards per carry, but he had just two attempts. He was used to averaging 8 yards per touch.
LSUās veteran back was Alabamaās main threat. Fournette was the main focus of UA's preparation.
āWhen you play a great player like that, everybody has to really focus on doing their job. Our guys did it last year,ā coach Nick Saban said. āWe played a lot of the same stuff we played a year ago.ā
Fournette averaged 1.6 yards per carry against the Crimson Tide last season.
It all started with a 3-yard run by each back. Fournetteās short burst came during LSUās second drive. Guiceās came during the next possession. Then, Fournette went on to finish with 35 yards on 17 carries. Guice produced far less, with 8 yards on two carries. As for their longest dashes, Fournette had a 9-yard run, while Guice had a 5-yarder.
āHonestly, itās just about dominating the line of scrimmage,ā defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said.
Throughout the first half, LSU notched only five plays for more than 5 yards. It had 100 yards over the course of 33 plays and five first downs.
During the second half, the Tigers added only 25 more offensive yards for an overall 125. It managed just one more first down and three more plays for more than five yards.
In order to get to that point, LSU quarterback Danny Etling completed 11 of 24 passes for 92 yards. He also threw a fourth-quarter inception, which was snagged by defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was filling in at safety after former starter Eddie Jacksonsustained a season-ending injury.
Linebacker Ryan Anderson caused the rogue pass after rocking Etling as the Crimson Tide blitzed.
āThank God I got to him right in time,ā the 6-foot-2, 253-pounder said.
In addition to the pass breakup, Anderson made six total tackles. He also had a sack.
āYou live to get those types of licks on a quarterback,ā Anderson said.
Alabama recorded five sacks and three quarterback hurries. There were four pass breakups, too.
Linebacker Reuben Foster led the Crimson Tide with 11 total tackles. Defensive back Marlon Humphrey followed with eight, then linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton with seven.
āWe have some pretty hateful guys that play defense around here, that are pretty good competitors,ā Saban said. āWhen they get challenged a little bit, they usually respond, and I thought they responded really well tonight.ā
TideSports.com - Defense handles Tigers up front and in the air
