LSU Football: Report Card Grades for the Tigers' Win vs. Alabama

If there was ever a game that featured an unstoppable force meeting the immovable object, LSU vs. Alabama was it.

This game lived up to the hype, and if there isn’t a rematch for the national championship, then you’re slighting every college football fan from another classic.

With LSU’s 9-6 overtime win over Alabama, fans got to see how football was meant to be played.

Defense, defense and more defense told the story of this game, and special teams played a huge factor as well.

These are the report card scores position by position from one of the best games I’ve ever seen.

QBs: D-

Jarrett Lee had his worst game of the season by throwing two interceptions, and Jordan Jefferson didn’t have a great game either. But they did just play the best defense in the nation.

It was no secret that LSU’s game plan was to run the ball, so the passing game wasn’t featured like it would be in a Big 12 matchup.

Because of that, there wasn’t many passing plays, and because of the two interceptions by Lee, the quarterbacks rating suffered.

RBs: B

Spencer Ware ran the ball violently like he always does in the first half, and Michael Ford benefited from some nicely-run option plays.

Both running backs played physical and came up big when it mattered most. In a game that featured the best running back in the nation in Trent Richardson—Ware and Ford didn’t take any backseats.

WRs: C

Although they weren’t called upon much in the first half, Russell Shepard came up with a clutch catch to set up a Tiger field goal at the end of the first half.

Because there wasn’t a whole lot of passes in this game, it’s kind of difficult to give a grade on the receivers, but LSU did have good blocking on the outside in times against a great secondary.

DL: A-

The defensive line came up big, and Sam Montgomery and Bennie Logan had really nice games. Logan had a blocked field goal in the first half, and in a game that had limited scoring, that was a key factor.

Montgomery’s sack on A.J. McCarron in overtime made the field goal attempt by Alabama nearly impossible to make.

As for Michael Brockers and Barkevious Mingo, they came up big as well when it mattered. Great effort by the core group up front to limit the lethal rushing game Alabama has to under 100 yards.

LB: B+

The undersized linebackers of LSU had a much bigger game than I thought they would.

That was the biggest disadvantage LSU had going against those big hogmollies and Trent Richardson, but the linebackers held up.

Ryan Baker had a great game and the other linebackers swarmed towards the football in crucial moments.

DBs: A

These guys are just straight up fun to watch. Tyrann Mathieu didn’t have the same kind of game that Tiger fans are used to seeing, but Mo Claiborne and Eric Reid made two of the biggest plays in the game.

Claiborne’s interception was a game-changer and allowed the Tigers to tie the game up. And Reid’s interception was just as big.

How can you not say LSU doesn’t have the best secondary in the nation?

Kickers: A+

Whether it was Brad Wing’s brilliant punting or Drew Alleman’s three field goals, special teams played a huge factor in this game, as we knew it would.

Wing had a 73-yard punt late in the game that led to the overtime, and Alleman took it from there.
Always fun to see LSU’s punter show that swagger week in and week out.

Returners: C+

They didn’t turn the ball over which is huge, but they didn’t make any jaw-dropping plays either.

There wasn’t a whole lot of returns in this game because of the limited scoring. When Ron Brooks did return the kickoff, he had average returns.

But he still did the most important thing, and that was not turning the ball over.

Coaching: B

I was not thrilled with the play-calling at times during the game, but I understand you have to be cautious when playing the quality of defense that Alabama possesses.

Les Miles and his staff managed the game, weathered the storm and let the defense win the game for them.

It was difficult for the offense to move the ball on that defense, so the staff went with conservative play calls, played to win the field position battle and the defense took it from there.

Not a perfect game from a play calling perspective, but to beat Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium is one heck of a feat.

Intangibles: C+

The Tigers had two turnovers and crucial penalties that killed drives, and that’s why they get a C+.

While they did turn the ball over and make dumb mistakes, they still kept their composure throughout the game and showed heart at the end.

This LSU team has a heart of geauxld, and they proved it once again with a clutch victory over the second best football team in the nation.

Overall: A

Was the quarterback play ugly? Yeah, but how can you not give this team an A for the effort they put forth in this legendary showdown?

Like I said, it wasn’t a perfect performance, but the defense that LSU showcased in this game was beyond amazing.

The Tigers won in hostile territory after overcoming bad quarterback play, and because of that I give them an A.

That was one of the best football games I’ve ever seen, and it would be a crime to not see these two play each other one more time for the national title.