Inside The Trenches: Quennen Williams, Alabama lines dominated LSU

Alabama has been a force all year in the trenches and against LSU they proved why they are the best in the country on both sides of the ball.

Coming into the LSU game, Alabama knew they had to control the line of scrimmage to remain undefeated and the No. 1 team in the nation. Alabama faced their toughest test to date on Saturday and escaped Death Valley with a 29-0 win with the offensive and defensive lines a big part of the reason.

While most of the focus has been on star sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his array of weapons, it was the offensive line that gave Tagovailoa the time necessary to sit in the pocket and deliver strikes down the field to his receivers and tight ends.

LSU has one of the better defenses in the nation that can dial up pressure from the edge or the interior with coordinator Dave Aranda one of the most creative at creating blitz packages. But it was neutralized against the offensive line of Alabama that gave Tagovailoa all the time he needed to operate in a clean pocket. The only chance LSU had to pull off this monumental upset was if they could get to Tagovailoa and pressure him consistently. They didn’t do that because of the work of All-American candidate Jonah Williams and Jedrick Wills who made sure their quarterback had a clean jersey and was kept upright.

Tagovailoa threw for 295 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added a 44-yard touchdown run to add to his highlight reel that will be playing during the Heisman ceremony next month.

Alabama has famously relied on their dominant rushing attack that comes at defenses in waves with one running back after another. That model held true in the eighth straight win over LSU.

Alex Leatherwood, Ross Pierschbacher and Lester Cotton owned the middle of the line and opened up holes for Damien Harris, Najee Harris, Josh Jacobs and Brian Robinson Jr. to run through all night. Damien Harris led all rushers with 107 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown while the sophomore Najee Harris reeled off 83 yards on only six carries, suggesting he could be in line for a larger workload down the stretch. The three hogs in the middle were able to bully the defensive line and attack the second level where LSU All-American middle linebacker Devin White couldn’t sift through the traffic to make the type of impact he normally makes.

On the defensive side of the ball, Alabama was just as dominant as they held the Tigers without a point, and barely in Alabama territory all night. It all started with the play of defensive tackle Quennen Williams who is the best defensive lineman in the nation and could be the best interior lineman Nick Saban has coached. Williams was a one-man wrecking crew that the LSU offensive line couldn’t slow. Williams finished with a team-high 10 tackles, seven of them solo, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He’s in line for All-American honors and should be a top-five pick in the NFL Draft.

Williams, Raekwon Davis and Isaiah Buggs were all instrumental in limiting LSU to a paltry 12 rushing yards all night. LSU’s once-dominant run game was nowhere to be found and they became dependent on quarterback Joe Burrow generating the offense. That’s playing right into Alabama’s hands because Burrow can’t make plays with his arm and knowing they had to lean on the passing game, the Crimson Tide linebackers and defensive backs feasted.

There isn’t an offensive line that Alabama will face that is capable of slowing this unit down. This was the best game of the year for the defense, led by Williams, as the Crimson Tide proved yet again they are the best team in the nation in large part because of the offensive and defensive line play.