BATON ROUGE, La. — Jalen Milroe highlighted a career-high 185 yards rushing with four scoring runs, and No. 11 Alabama routed 14th-ranked LSU 42-13 on Saturday night.
Milroe’s fourth touchdown also was his longest run, a 72-yard sprint that gave the Crimson Tide (7-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) a 29-point lead early in the fourth quarter of a pivotal game for the College Football Playoff hopes of both teams.
While Alabama’s victory keeps the Crimson Tide firmly in contention, the Tigers (6-3, 3-2) dropped virtually out of the running with not only their third loss this season, but their second straight by 15 or more points.
Milroe’s three other scoring runs went for 39, 10 and 19 yards. His performance as a runner eclipsed his previous single-game best of 155 yards and four TDs rushing in a 42-28 victory over LSU a year ago in Tuscaloosa.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was plagued by turnovers for a second straight game. His first-half fumble led to Milroe’s second touchdown.
Nussmeier was intercepted on Alabama’s goal line by Deontae Lawson early in the third quarter, when the Tigers had a chance to cut the Crimson Tide’s lead to one score. The beleaguered LSU quarterback also was intercepted in the fourth quarter — his sixth turnover in his past two games.
Milroe passed for 109 yards and did not commit a turnover.
Justice Hayes and Richard Young also ran for Alabama TDs — Hayes from 1 yard out in the first half and Young from 8 yards in the fourth quarter.
Shortly before kickoff, in a move that delighted some fans but drew protests from animal rights activists, LSU paraded a caged Bengal tiger onto the field at the behest of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
LSU had stopped the practice with the tiger that lives in a 15,000-square foot habitat on campus back in 2015, so Landry had another tiger shipped in from Florida.
Alabama was apparently unfazed, taking a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening series when Milroe ran for his 39-yard touchdown.
After Milroe’s second TD made it 21-6 late in the second quarter, LSU tried to produce points before the break, but stalled at midfield and trotted to the locker room to a cascade of boos. It only got worse from there for the home side.
Alabama: The Tide’s dominance had fans headed for the exits before the end of the third quarter, when the score was 28-6. Alabama outgained LSU 420 yards to 343 and possessed the ball for 33:55.
LSU: Between Nussmeier’s recent rash of turnovers and the defense’s difficulty stopping running quarterbacks, LSU’s season has fallen apart since the second half of a 38-23 loss at Texas A&M in the team’s previous game.
Alabama hosts Mercer next Saturday.
LSU plays at Florida next Saturday.
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