LSU Football: Grading the Tigers Game vs. Alabama

The Game of the Century certainly lived up to the hype.

There wasn't much offense, but for those who like good, hard-nosed, SEC defensive football, this was a game for the ages.

It took overtime, but LSU got the last laugh in this 9-6 win over Alabama in a matchup between the top two teams in the country.

Let's break this down and hand out report card grades for LSU's win over Alabama.

Quarterbacks

Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson left the field Saturday with a win, but they certainly weren't the catalysts in this victory.

Lee was far from good, completing just 3-of-7 passes for 24 yards and two interceptions.

Amazingly enough, neither of those picks led to Alabama scores, but Lee was not on point in this game. 

Jordan Jefferson was better, but not by much. He completed just 6-of-10 passes for 67 yards.

As a team, LSU threw for less than 100 yards.

If it wasn't for a win, it would be challenging not to give this group a failing grade.

Grade: D

Running Backs

LSU's running backs weren't great either, but they did just enough to put the Tigers in field-goal range on several occasions, which turned out to be enough.

Spencer Ware has been the star in this backfield, but he did next to nothing, averaging under two yards per carry.

The star of this backfield on Saturday was Michael Ford, who gained 72 yards on 11 runs. He had that great run at the end of the game which was called back after he stepped out of bounds, but that didn't stop him from putting up good numbers.

As a unit, 148 rushing yards against a dominant Alabama defense is pretty good.

Grade: B

Wide Receivers

This unit had just nine catches for 91 yards, and not one LSU receiver or tight end had more than two catches in this game.

We all know how good Alabama's secondary is, but nine catches sure isn't too much to brag about.

Rueben Randle, who was putting up All-American numbers before this, had an off day with just two catches for 19 yards.

Would have been nice to see more from this group.

Grade: C-

O-Line

This offensive line is very good. No questions asked.

But they were overmatched at times by this great Alabama defensive line.

LSU rushed for 148 yards, which is solid, but not great. Jarrett Lee seemed scattered at times, which was partially his fault, but there was plenty of pressure at times as well.

Grade: C+

D-Line

This defensive line showed the college football world just how truly dominant they were on Saturday.

They were great throughout, but Sam Montgomery is a special player. His sack in overtime to push Alabama into difficult field goal range is what proved to be the difference in this defensive battle.

There shouldn't be much to complain about here.

Grade: A

Linebackers

The linebacking core was the main question mark of this defense, but with the way this group played on Saturday, there shouldn't be anymore questions.

Trent Richardson did have 89 yards rushing, but that came on 23 carries. To hold the potential Heisman front-runner to under 4.0 yards per carry is beyond impressive.

That starts with this linebacking core.

Grade: A

Secondary

If there was any question what was the best secondary in the nation heading into this game, there really shouldn't be anymore.

Mo Claiborne and Tyrann Mathieu were brilliant in this game, and while Mathieu didn't record an interception, Claiborne had one, Eric Reid had one and this Alabama receiving core didn't stand a chance against this group.

Marquis Maze is one of the best receivers in America, but he was held to just 61 yards. A.J. McCarron had less than 200 yards passing and no touchdowns.

This group is fantastic, and they proved that on the biggest stage.

Grade: A

Special Teams

If there was one individual hero outside of the defense, I guess it would be only fair to say that was LSU kicker Drew Alleman.

He was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, including the game-winning 25-yarder in overtime to seal the win for the Tigers.

Freshman punter Brad Wing was solid again, averaging 38 yards per punt.

Not a whole lot in the return game, but Alleman's great night made up for it.

Grade: A-

Coaching

This was a matchup between what many believe to be the two best coaches in America right now, and it was Les Miles who came out on top.

Miles had his game plan mapped out perfectly, being well prepared for what was going to be an obvious defensive slug fest.

To be able to take your team on the road, and perform like that on the defensive side of the ball in a hostile environment against the No.2 rated team in the nation, really says a lot about just how good of a coach Miles is.

Grade: A 

Intangibles

Over 100,000 people were on hand to watch this game that had been declared by so many as being the "game of the century."

And as I said, if you love defensive football, this was a game that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

With the win, LSU now controls its own destiny to the BCS National Title Game and should be the favorite going forward.

A signature win for a truly great football team.

March on Tigers.

Grade: A-