Lane Kiffin’s fourth-down philosophy has been a season-long storyline at LSU, and Saturday’s loss to Alabama only turned up the volume.
The Tigers went 0 for 4 on fourth down in a 31-13 defeat in Tiger Stadium, a night that featured four turnovers on downs and a handful of moments that swung the game hard in Alabama’s direction. LSU had been efficient in those situations for most of the year, coming into the game 13-of-16 on fourth down. Against the Crimson Tide, that edge vanished.
Kiffin said the decisions themselves weren’t all created equal.
“They were very different ones, I feel like, that came up,” Kiffin said, “and I think most of them, outside of maybe the field goal one, the fourth-and-(4), I think most of them are pretty obvious ‘Go for it’ (calls).”
The one he flagged for discussion came in the second quarter, with LSU trailing 10-3 and the ball at the Alabama 9 with 3:36 left before halftime. Instead of sending out the field goal unit, Kiffin kept the offense on the field. Alabama sent six rushers, and Sam Leavitt had Trey’Dez Green open on an out route just beyond the sticks, but the pass was tipped.
Kiffin said the feel of the game pushed him toward the touchdown attempt.
“I kind of felt at the start of the game, both teams moving the ball, when they got the field goal, it kind of felt down there like it was probably going to be more high-scoring,” Kiffin said, referring to Alabama’s opening, 50-yard possession. “It's just because the feeling of it right there, that we were going to need some touchdowns.”
That sequence didn’t cost LSU field position, at least not immediately. Alabama took over at its own 9, got stuffed on third-and-1, and LSU got the ball back. Leavitt then threw an interception on the next possession.
The fourth-quarter failures were the ones that really buried the Tigers. LSU missed on three straight tries in the final period, a jarring turn after failing on only three fourth downs across its first eight games.
The first came with LSU down 17-13 at the Alabama 36, needing three yards. A field goal would have meant a 53-yard attempt, and Scott Starzyk had not connected from beyond 49 this season. Leavitt appeared to have Jackson Harris open on an in-breaking route, while Green also created space underneath, but the throw was tipped by an Alabama blitzer.
“Not getting fourth down is pretty brutal,” Leavitt said. “Not just from a points standpoint, but from the momentum point of the game.”
LSU’s defense bailed the offense out on that series by forcing a three-and-out, but Alabama’s punt pinned the Tigers at their own 7. The next drive ended in a punt from the LSU 11, and the coverage breakdown that followed - similar to the one in the loss at Kentucky - gave Alabama the ball at the LSU 25. Keelon Russell needed just one play to find the end zone, and Alabama was suddenly up 24-13.
That set up the final fourth-down decision. After Leavitt was sacked on the first play of the drive, LSU managed only 8 yards over the next two snaps, leaving fourth-and-10 at the LSU 25 with 8:05 to play. Kiffin said punting wasn’t really an option.
“You can play just to try to keep the score low, whatever, when you're on your own 20, but you have no chance to win by punting, really, analytically,” Kiffin said. “So you go for it.”
Leavitt looked right, pumped, then turned left, only to have Alabama defensive lineman Devan Thompkins drive Jordan Seaton back into him. Thompkins kept working at Leavitt, and the quarterback ended up on the turf.
From there, Alabama needed only three plays to cover 18 yards and stretch the lead to 31-13.
The final numbers made the loss look even stranger. LSU outgained Alabama 457-285 and held a 27-13 edge in first downs, but the Tigers still walked off with an 18-point defeat.
Kiffin didn’t pretend that was good enough. But he also didn’t see it as a sign the offense was broken.
“You see games where the offense can't move the ball at all and we’re up here with maybe that many points but you got 180 yards … then you’re saying, well, we got a ton of problems,” Kiffin said. “So in a way, that’s better because it means we got to do better in the red zone. And when those critical fourth-downs come, we need to make them.”
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