Ty Simpson threw for 277 yards and a touchdown Saturday night as No. 4 Alabama stayed unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference by stopping visiting LSU 20-9 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Simpson completed 21 of 35 passes, again carrying the offensive load for the Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0 SEC). His 13-yard strike to Ryan Williams with 22 seconds left in the first half gave them an insurmountable 17-3 lead.
Alabama’s defense kept the Tigers (5-4, 2-4) out of the end zone in their first game under interim coach Frank Wilson, who took over after Brian Kelly was fired on Oct. 26 after a 49-25 home loss to unbeaten Texas A&M.
But Wilson couldn’t fix the offensive issues that have marked LSU this season. Not even a change at quarterback late in the third quarter could supply a spark for the Tigers. Wilson benched starter Garrett Nussmeier after he took a sack that forced them to settle for Damien Ramos’ 44-yard field goal at the 8:54 mark.
Backup Michael Van Buren, a transfer who started last year at Mississippi State, took over but couldn’t get LSU into the end zone. He was 5 of 11 for 52 yards, leading a drive that resulted in Ramos’ 37-yard field goal with 10:28 left in the game that made it 17-9.
However, the Tide took advantage of a short field to salt the game away. Conor Talty converted a 44-yard field goal with 4:25 remaining to make it a two-possession game.
Talty opened the scoring by booming a 45-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the first quarter, followed by Ramos’ 37-yarder 2:33 into the second quarter. Alabama answered back with the first touchdown of the game, marching 75 yards in seven plays and taking a 10-3 lead when Daniel Hill scored on a 4-yard run with 9:25 on the clock.
The Tide outgained the Tigers 347-233 but again got little from their struggling running game. They managed just 59 yards on 23 attempts. LSU didn’t do much better, collecting 60 yards on 25 attempts.
–Field Level Media
