Alabama vs. LSU: Top 5 Reasons Why the Tide Lost

The "Game of the Century" is over, and it lived up to the hype.  It was expected to be the biggest showdown of the best defenses in the country, and that is exactly what it was, with LSU coming out on top with a 9-6 overtime win.  

Some have gone on to call it a "snoozer" due to the game not being an offensive shootout, but defenses win championships and some of the greatest games in history have been hard-fought defensive battles both in the trenches and in the backfields.  

Alabama lost the game, despite having many more chances and a better defense than LSU.  

Here are the top reasons why Alabama lost the game.  

Tight End Michael Williams Was Beaten by Much Smaller Opponents

Michael Williams is one of the biggest and most powerful tight ends in the entire country.  He is much faster and agile than his 6-6, 270 lb. frame lets on.  

Against LSU, however, his brute strength did him no good.  

First, Williams caught a short pass and was viciously tackled by Tyrann Mathieu, an opponent almost 100 lbs. lighter than Williams.  Not only did Mathieu slam into him with incredible force, but he planted Williams flat on his back.  

Then, in the 4th quarter on a trick play, Williams cleanly caught a pass from wide receiver Marquis Maze. Williams then let 210 lb. safety Eric Reid pluck the ball from his hands on the way down for an interception.  

Michael Williams is a great tight end, but his greatest advantage is his size and strength, and he failed to make use of both against much smaller and weaker opponents on key plays.  

Injured Players Not Taking a Seat

The Crimson Tide should have taken lessons from Mark Barron on playing injured.  

In the 2010 Iron Bowl, Mark Barron tore a pectoral muscle, but was unsure what the injury was at the time.  All he knew was that he was really hurting, but he played anyway.  He consequently missed an easy interception and allowed a big pass due to the injury.  

After the game, Barron admitted it was foolish of himself to think he could continue playing with an injury, and accepts that he cost the Tide the game.  

Barrett Jones played hurt for much of the later parts of the game, but he didn't have much choice as his primary backup, Cyrus Kouandjio, is out for the season with a knee injury, leaving no one but Jones to face the LSU defense at left tackle.

Marquis Maze, however, suffered what seemed to be a severe right ankle sprain on a dangerous cut after a catch.  He hobbled around on the field of play with a massive layer of tape on his ankle that nearly went to his knee.  

He was able to make an impact after this in the passing game, and he insisted on staying in as the punt returner.  

He then proceeded to miss a punt return due to his injury, allowing LSU punter Brad Wing to punt the ball 73 yards from his own red zone.  

Another healthy return man, such as DeAndrew White, would have made the catch.  

Alabama's Linebackers Are Slow

This may be an unpopular stance, but Alabama's linebackers are indeed slow.  They are big and powerful, but Les Miles knew they couldn't keep up with the option.  

Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw are just too big to be expected to run to the sidelines against the option.  They may be fast at the line of scrimmage, but the option sliced and diced them for solid yardage once LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson entered the game.

Linebackers Jerrell Harris and Nico Johnson also had a very tough time stopping the option.   

When LSU tight end Deangelo Peterson said the Alabama Linebackers were "slow", he was right.  Slow can be a broad term, but compared to a typical 230 lb. linebacker, yes, Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw are slow.  

In a game where yards were precious, Alabama's linebackers succumbed to the option attack, allowing 148 rushing yards.

Cade Foster Cannot Kick

Cade Foster missed three key field goals and couldn't get a touchback to save his life.  

Almost all of his kickoffs came out short, many barely going more than 60 yards before the catch.  LSU struggled offensively, but Foster's short kickoffs were a welcome sight for the Tigers.

Foster came into the game with a proven track record of terrible kicking ability.  It's true that he lacked field goal attempts, but his short kickoffs that barely eclipsed 60 yards all season long should have been a warning sign that he couldn't make a 50-yard field goal attempt.  

But a 50-yard attempt is what happened (numerous times), and not only were the kicks too wide, but one of them was not even long enough.  

Cade Foster should not have been attempting field goals in this game.  If it is out of range for the typically accurate Jeremy Shelley to make then a punt or going for it on 4th down is the only option.  

Nick Saban Was out Coached

Nick Saban had a great call last night with Marquis Maze making a clean pass to Michael Williams on a trick play.  The play was executed perfectly and the ball was placed right where it should have been. 

It should have been first and goal, but the passed was intercepted.  Despite the failure, it was a great call and didn't work out simply due to a fluke.

Everything else on offense was not.  

Trent Richardson was called on to run at what seemed strange times, and other times a run should have been the obvious answer.  

Richardson had great success on outside runs and on catching out of the backfield, but Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Jim McElwain, for unknown reasons, strayed away from that.  

Instead, they elected to pass the ball, with an untested quarterback and a good-yet-undersized receiving corps against the best (or second best, depending on your stance) secondary in the country. McCarron had his 3rd highest attempts this season against LSU.  

Nick Saban also had a great amount of time to attempt a last minute drive in the fourth quarter, but he squandered those precious seconds, seemingly content with overtime when plenty of time remained for a clutch drive.  

And in overtime, LSU soundly beat Alabama, as LSU actually had a kicker.  

Time and again Nick Saban put his faith in inept kickers, and was actually willing to put all his chips in with them in overtime, where a field goal more often than not decides the winner.  

Nick Saban has a battle-proven running back in Trent Richardson, an effective quarterback, and the best defense in the nation.  Instead of leaning on those three, he went with a proven failure.  

Nick Saban is a great coach, but once against his successor at LSU, Les Miles, has effectively out-coached him.  

As an Alabama fan, it's becoming very hard to call Nick Saban the best coach in college football.  He's still up there at the top, but to call him the "best" is beginning to sound more like arrogance without enough substance to back it up.