LSU Defense Puts Forth Inspiring Effort, Execution Despite Being Shorthanded Against Alabama

The Tigers defense walked into Tuscaloosa with something to prove against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Without Cordale Flott and an incredible number of starters out of the game, their backs were against the wall before the first snap.

Despite being 30 point underdogs and installing last second schemes, this unit pulled it together and went out swinging. With a tremendous effort from the front four and Damone Clark, Daronte Jones’ defense looked as good as they have all season long.

Putting pressure on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was the Tigers top priority, which had this defense elect to blitz more than they have all season. Being “too predictable” was an issue Orgeron addressed during the bye week and boy did he adjust with the week off.

“We wanted to change, we wanted to get after it,” Orgeron said. “We found that we had to do some different things and we put in maybe eight different defenses… Give credit to our players. They worked hard. They believed in it. For us to get that sack fumble at the end and put us in a position to win, that was an all-out blitz. That was a zero blitz. We have never done that all year.”

Despite being so shorthanded, Saturday night looked like one of the best defensive efforts of the Orgeron era. Taking it to the final play, Orgeron expressed how proud he was of the way his defense looked adversity in the eyes and just played ball.

“We should have won the game but those guys played their hearts out,” Orgeron said. “We lost Maason [Smith], we lost a lot of guys. We came in this stadium, we were going to win the game, these guys were not intimidated. They wanted to win the football game. We just fell a little short.”

The takeaway of the night was the sheer dominance from the front four in this 4-3 scheme LSU put together Saturday night. Led by Neil Farrell and Jaquelin Roy, this defensive line looked as sharp as they have all season.

Showing more blitz packages than usual, it gave both Farrell and Roy the chance to bully the Crimson Tide offense and challenge Young from start to finish. Forcing Alabama into another three and out to end the third quarter, their pressure on Young shifted the momentum of the game. Over Alabama's final five offensive drives, the Crimson Tide accumulated just 34 yards of offense on 20 plays.

“We executed very well,” Farrell said. “We worked our butts off this week in practice and it showed today.”

With the defensive line being so dominant, it forced Coach Nick Saban to adjust, leaving room for star linebacker Damone Clark to get into a groove. Clark made his presence felt all night against this Crimson Tide offense, playing sideline-to-sideline each snap. Clark and fellow linebacker Mike Jones Jr. set the tone particularly in the backfield to open the game.

The different approach of the defense had Clark excited all week to get onto the field and showcase this new scheme. Being less predictable and showing a variation of plays was something Clark couldn’t wait to put on display.

“When I saw it, I was excited,” Clark said. “Because I knew that it was something different, they weren’t expecting us to come out and do it and we had a lot of success… Overall great effort by the defense.”

Clark has been the leader in the locker room all season long for this banged up defense, keeping spirits up each week. The on-field success of his is a testament to the work he puts in each day, but to him, it’s all about the success of this team.

“I’m proud of the way our team fought,” Clark said. “A lot of people always count us out but you just have to have the underdog mentality. Just go out there and just fly around. Just make plays. A couple of plays that we wish we could have back as a team or that we wish we could have made but that’s part of it.”

The Tigers defensive effort in Tuscaloosa goes to show this team is going to continue fighting each week for each other. Blocking out the noise, this team has the chance to fight as one. One team. One heartbeat.