Alabama’s Jalen Milroe puts LSU on brink of CFP elimination in defeat: Where does the SEC race stand?

No. 11 Alabama handed No. 15 LSU its second straight double-digit loss Saturday night, effectively knocking the Tigers out of the College Football Playoff race with a 42-13 win in Baton Rouge.

Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe scored four touchdowns against LSU for the second straight game and finished with the fourth 100-yard game of his career on the ground (185 yards on 12 carries). Alabama’s defense intercepted LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier twice and stifled the Tigers’ running game: After Caden Durham’s 45-yard rush on LSU’s second play from scrimmage, the Tigers scored just 53 on their next 21 runs.

Below are our impressions of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s stellar first-year debut in the rivalry and LSU coach Brian Kelly’s first loss in a night game at Tiger Stadium:

Milroe owns the Bayou Bengals

Last season against LSU, Milroe delivered the best game of his career: 374 total yards (including a then-career-high 155 rushing) and four touchdowns to keep Alabama’s SEC and playoff hopes in sight with a 42-28 win to keep. On Saturday, Milroe once again broke through LSU’s defense. He didn’t have to throw the ball much, rushing for just 109 yards on 19 attempts, but he took care of the ball and controlled Alabama’s offense all night. And most importantly, the Crimson Tide were unable to prevail for the second straight game, even though it rained heavily in various places on Saturday evening.

His return to form on Saturday was an encouraging sign after the Alabama offense failed to perform at its best for several weeks. When Milroe plays like he did on Saturday – confident, decisive, efficient – Alabama is incredibly difficult to defend. The Milroe who showed up Saturday was closer to the star of September’s dramatic win over Georgia, and if that game lasts into November, Alabama will be a tough opponent in the 12-team playoffs. — Kennington Smith III

The SEC race remains in disarray

The simplest immediate consequence of Saturday night’s loss in Death Valley is that LSU’s SEC championship hopes have suffered a major setback with the Tigers’ second SEC loss, while Alabama’s ambitions remain.

The more complicated explanation is that Texas, Texas A&M and Tennessee are now the only SEC teams with a league loss. The Aggies and Longhorns meet on the final Saturday of the regular season. Unless there’s an upset before then (Texas has to get past Arkansas and Kentucky first and Texas A&M has to travel to Auburn), the winner of this rivalry renewal will advance to its SEC title game this season. The Volunteers also control their path to Atlanta, and next week’s trip to Athens seems a little less daunting after Georgia’s loss at Ole Miss.

But it’s also easy to imagine a scenario in which six teams with two SEC losses share second place: LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee and loser Texas/Texas A&M. From there, the tiebreakers get more complicated. — Matt Baker

The LSU defense’s issues with QB mobility continue

In late October, the Tigers let Marcel Reed and Texas A&M score on the first five possessions of the second half, and the Aggies’ backup QB finished the game with 62 yards and three scores on nine carries. In September, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers ran for 88 yards and scored two scores in one game. LSU was lucky to escape unscathed.

And then, on a quiet night for Alabama’s running backs (none finished with more than 40 rushing yards), Milroe left the ground game almost entirely to his shoulders. Milroe, the most talented runner of any quarterback the Tigers faced this season, eliminated them from the ranks of SEC teams with a conference loss in another frustrating game for Blake Baker’s defense. — David Ubben

DeBoer scores another big win

The stakes in this game were clear for Alabama: win and secure a very good playoff berth; lose and go home. With today’s win, Alabama’s playoff chances increase to 79 percent, according to Austin Mocks Playoff Predictions.

More than the win itself, what will impress the selection committee is how Alabama won the game. Alabama dominated LSU in every way, exactly the performance Tide fans were hoping for after a week off and a disappointing road game at Tennessee a few weeks ago. The offense began the game with a false start, adding to pregame anxiety about how they would handle another hostile atmosphere on the road. Eight plays and 75 yards later, Alabama found itself in the end zone and never looked back. The offense had just one three-pointer all night and the defense has found its stride under first-year coordinator Kane Wommack.

But as Alabama fans have already learned this season, they’re not there yet. On paper, Alabama has a very favorable final stretch: Mercer finishes the season at Oklahoma and Auburn. But this team hasn’t been consistent week after week. The Tide put themselves in the position they wanted: three winnable games left, a playoff spot and possibly an SEC title game within reach. How DeBoer handles the next three weeks will say a lot about how Alabama handles success. — Blacksmith

Garrett Nussmeier’s long night

Nussmeier overcame a shaky start to engineer LSU’s come-from-behind win over Ole Miss last month that put the Tigers back on track for playoffs and SEC competition. On Saturday he had problems again early on, but the heroics in the second half didn’t materialize. It was a frustrating night for the first-year starter, who finished 24 of 38 through the air with two interceptions and enjoyed only brief moments of success surrounded by game-breaking errors that derailed the night for the Tigers.

A key sequence occurred around halftime when Nussmeier was sacked late in the second quarter and fumbled deep in LSU territory to set up an Alabama touchdown. He led the Tigers down the field on the first drive of the second half, but threw an ugly interception to Deontae Lawson in the end zone. At one point, he disregarded time and prevented LSU from scoring with a two-minute drill that went just past midfield and ended with an unsuccessful swing pass to end the half after the Tigers ran out of timeouts. Alabama led 21-6 at halftime, but the gap in both teams’ quarterback play was already clear. — Ubben

(Photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)