Alabama appeared to return to its more dominant ways on Saturday with a 34-0 win over No. 21 Missouri, following a pair of Southeastern Conference losses, so LSU coach Brian Kelly was asked about his Tigers’ game versus the No. 14 Tide (6-2, 3-2 SEC) a week from Saturday.
“We saw Alabama kind of start to look loke their old selves again, so what’s the game plan?,” a reporter asked Kelly Tuesday night after practice. No. 18 LSU (6-2, 3-1 SEC) hosts Alabama on Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. on ABC with an invite to the new, 12-team the College Football Playoff likely on the line.
“What’s that old self look like?,” Kelly said light heartedly. “Is Nick Saban back? Nick’s on the sideline?”
No, Saban, who turns 73 on Halloween Thursday, did not come out of his retirement that began after last season because Alabama dropped games to Vanderbilt, 40-35, and Tennessee, 24-17, this month. He has not replaced new coach Kalen DeBoer. Saban remains working for ESPN as a GameDay cohost on Saturdays.
COMPLETE BRIAN KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE TUESDAY NIGHT
“He’s everywhere,” Kelly went on. “GameDay, he’s at GameDay, too. Did you know that? Oh, my God. I’m not sure what the old Alabama is.”
Well, Alabama did win national championships under Saban in 2009, 2011, ’12, ’15, ’17 and ’20. And Saban got the Tide into the then-four-team College Football Playoff last season before losing to eventual national champion Michigan, 27-20, in overtime. That might be what the reporter meant by Alabama returning to its old self, somewhat, after those two SEC losses that followed an upset of No. 2 Georgia on Sept. 28.
“They’ve got great personnel. They’re well coached,” Kelly said. “Certainly, we know it’s going to be a great challenge.”
Alabama is favored by 2.5 points in Tiger Stadium.
“If they’re playing to their best,” Kelly said of his team, “they can compete and play with anybody. We certainly have to play four quarters.”
Kelly said his players would prefer to play Alabama this Saturday as they lost on Saturday at Texas A&M, 38-23, after leading 17-7 in the third quarter.
“The 24-hour rule after a loss is harder,” Kelly said. “It sticks around a lot longer. They’re going to want to play now, and they can’t wait to play Alabama.”
LSU HOLDER PEYTON TODD AND LONG SNAPPER SLADE ROY TO REMAIN
Kelly vowed after the loss to Texas A&M that his team’s problems with holder/punter Peyton Todd and deep snapper Slade Roy will be erased in short order. Todd wasn’t looking when Roy snapped the ball to him for a field goal attempt in the third quarter Saturday with LSU up 17-14. The snap bounced off Todd’s shoulder pad, and the Aggies took over. A possible 20-14 LSU lead soon turned into a 21-17 deficit, then 28-17, 35-23 and finally 38-23.
ABC cameras captured Kelly chewing out Todd after the play and telling him, “You’ve got to get out there and get the f-ing operation going.”
There were poor ball placements by Todd on field goal holds in LSU’s last two games and premature snaps by Roy.
“In the NFL, there’s a bank of long snapping professionals,” Kelly said Tuesday when asked if he might try someone else at holder or deep snapper. “And they can just dip into that bank and pay ’em. We don’t have that. You can’t just go pick somebody out of the dorms and say, ‘C’mon in.'”
But Kelly and special teams coordinator Slade Nagle could look at some of LSU’s offensive linemen, particularly centers, and see if someone else can long snap. And often, quarterbacks serve as holders. But Kelly is apparently sticking with Todd and Roy, even though they looked like Siegfried & Roy gone awry Saturday.
“So, we have to work harder with those guys and trust that they’re going to make progress and work as a unit,” Kelly said. “They’ll all capable. It was a bad night, and as I said, you can’t have a night like that. For me, to have a night like that, when they were so good all year, is really troubling. But at the same time, we’re going to get it fixed.”
GARRETT DELLINGER INJURY UPDATE
LSU starting senior left guard Garrett Dellinger left the Texas A&M game Saturday in the first half with an injury and did not return. Kelly said Tuesday he suffered a high ankle sprain. Unless that is a minor sprain, Dellinger could be out for several weeks. But Kelly did not rule Dellinger out for the Alabama game.
“We’re hoping this week becomes a recovery week for him,” he said.
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