BATON ROUGE, La (AP) — Lane Kiffin's move to LSU hasn't helped either yet when it comes to their historical difficulty against Alabama.
This time, a deflating, 31-13 loss to the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide before a crowd sprinkled with dignitaries — including First Lady Melania Trump and actor Kevin Costner — tarnished Kiffin's first season with the 15th-ranked Tigers (6-3, 3-3 SEC) and left LSU's playoff hopes somewhere between slim and none.
“I’m disappointed
for our fans,” a visibly disappointed Kiffin said after the game. "It got kind of ugly there in the end.”
After coming up empty on several promising drives into Alabama territory in the first half, LSU finally surged in front late in the third quarter. That lead lasted less than three minutes.
Alabama responded by scoring 21 straight points, and posed for victory photos in front of largely empty stands — with disappointed LSU fans having filed out steadily during the fourth quarter.
“We take the lead and then Alabama goes down and scores and then we play a really bad 18 minutes of football,” Kiffin said. “We take the lead and the crowd is ready to help push us over and Alabama goes down and scores.”
In a rivalry that dates back to 1895, the Tigers have often struggled, particularly in Baton Rouge. Alabama has defeated the Tigers in 31 of the 43 games in Tiger Stadium. Since 2012, LSU has only beaten Alabama just once in eight games played in Tiger Stadium.
Kiffin, meanwhile, remains winless against the school where he was the offensive coordinator for three years under Nick Saban, having gone 0-6 against the Crimson Tide. Tennessee’s 12–10 loss in 2009 is as close as Kiffin has gotten to beating 'Bama.
Despite having outgained Alabama 457-285 and doubling up on first downs, 27-13, the Tigers struggles in the red zone and on fourth down doomed any chances for the victory this time.
Known for his gambling style of play-calling, Kiffin came up snake eyes as LSU went 0-4 on fourth downs.
By contrast, Alabama scored touchdowns on all three of its opportunities in the red zone.
“We got in the red zone more than they did,” Kiffin lamented. “That will give you a problem on the scoreboard when you get a lot of yards and not a lot of points."
Kiffin was arguably the most high-profile hire in college football when he left College Football Playoff-bound Ole Miss for Baton Rouge last Thanksgiving weekend. He received a seven-year, $91 million contract to go along with ample resources with which to pursue players. Now, Kiffin’s Tigers now sit on the outside looking in on the playoff picture with three losses.
“It is where we are and we can’t change that," Kiffin said. “We got to go back to work and can’t just sit around here and feel bad.”
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