The LSU-Alabama game was dubbed the Game of the Century so did it live up to the prodigious hype preceding the matchup? You better believe it.
There was no shortage of hype ahead of LSU and Alabama playing on Saturday afternoon. Somehow the afternoon kick didn’t do anything to curtail the entertainment value of the SEC West showdown between the No. 1 team in the AP Poll and the No. 1 team in the Coaches Poll. For the first No. 1 vs. No. 1 matchup, there will be a lot of hype, but did the game justify it?
Oh hell yes!
That’s the easiest takeaway from LSU’s 46-41 win at Alabama in what was the game of the year so far in college football. It may not be the Game of the Century depending on what else happens in the playoff and bowl season, but it certainly did not disappoint. The game went down to the final seconds with an onsides kick attempt by Alabama putting a dozen butterflies in the gut of Alabama and LSU fans everywhere.
For a long time, it looked like the fourth quarter would be a snooze-fest the way LSU controlled the first half. Joe Burrow was invincible in the first half with 252 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-20 passing. He helped LSU to 33 first-half points, which are the most allowed by a Nick Saban team since he’s been the head coach at Alabama.
There were more of those as running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire became the first skill player with four touchdowns from scrimmage against Alabama since Saban became coach in 2007. The Tigers 5-foot-8 running back had one of the biggest impacts on the game, especially in the fourth quarter when he picked up a crucial third-down conversion. That kept a drive alive where he and Burrow put the finishing touches on Alabama.
Or so we thought, because Tua threw an 85-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith to make it a five-point game and put everyone on Old Takes Exposed’ list for thinking the game was over.
After the onside kick attempt was recovered by LSU, it was all over except for the celebration in the visiting team’s locker room, which will spill over into the team flight home and continue into Sunday and probably into mid-week.
So yeah, this game most definitely lived up to the hype. The Alabama football fans who are upset and dejected by the outcome will agree the game was worthy of the Game of the Century designation. It was a great contest with great quarterback play, outstanding clutch plays by skill position players and some great coaching, especially by LSU’s Ed Orgeron and the offensive tandem of Steve Ensminger and Joe Brady.
It seems far too often these types of games, whether it be in college football, NFL, NBA, NHL, college basketball, they always fall short of the hype. And it’s not immune to just sports, season finales of big shows like Game of Thrones or marquee movie releases, the common perception is it’s hard to live up to the hype.
In the case of LSU-Alabama, it definitely lived up to the hype. I don’t think we’ll see a rematch in the playoff, but if it happened, I’d be tuning in to see what’s in store for the encore.
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