Keelon Russell Throws Three Touchdowns as No. 9 Alabama Scores 21 Straight to Beat No. 15 LSU 31-13

Alabama fell behind for the first time late in the third quarter, then scored the game's last 21 points. Keelon Russell threw three second-half touchdown passes, the Crimson Tide defense stopped LSU four times on fourth down, and No. 9 Alabama beat No. 15 LSU 31-13 on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Alabama (7-2, 5-2 SEC) was outgained 457 yards to 285 and had 14 fewer first downs, but it did not turn the ball over and kept LSU out of the end zone on three of the Tigers' four trips inside the red zone. LSU (6-3, 3-3 SEC) took a 13-10 lead on a Dilin Jones touchdown run with 2:44 left in the third quarter and did not score again.

Sam Leavitt threw for 380 yards and Jackson Harris caught 11 passes for 166 yards, but LSU went 0 for 4 on fourth down, lost two turnovers and was sacked four times. It was the final meeting between the programs as permanent SEC opponents, and Alabama won it for the fourth straight time.

Field goals and a goal line stand

Alabama opened with a nine-play, 50-yard drive. Russell found Kaleb Edwards for 25 yards, but a holding penalty stalled the Tide inside the LSU 30, and Conor Talty made a 43-yard field goal at 10:40 of the first quarter.

LSU answered with a 14-play, 70-yard drive that took 5:52. Leavitt hit Harris for 21 yards to move the Tigers into Alabama territory, and LSU reached the Alabama 7. On third and goal, Caleb Woodson hurried Leavitt into an incompletion intended for Harris, and Scott Starzyk kicked a 23-yard field goal to tie it 3-3 at 4:48.

LSU had a chance to go ahead on its next possession, but Starzyk's 56-yard attempt on the first play of the second quarter was no good.

Coleman-Williams returns with a touchdown

Alabama took the lead on its next drive. The Tide went 62 yards in 11 plays and 6:32, and Russell's 21-yard throw to Edwards set up first and goal at the 1. Ryan Coleman-Williams, back after missing the previous two games following knee surgery, ran it in from there at 8:23 for a 10-3 lead.

LSU drove right back into scoring position. Chuck McDonald III tackled Leavitt from behind at the Alabama 9 to save a touchdown, and two plays later, on fourth and 4, McDonald broke up a pass for Trey'Dez Green to turn the Tigers over on downs at 3:31.

The Tigers got one more chance before halftime. Leavitt completed a 31-yard pass to Eugene Wilson III, but Devan Thompkins sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss with 38 seconds left, and moments later linebacker Luke Metz intercepted Leavitt at the Alabama 24 and returned it 28 yards. LSU went to halftime with three points despite reaching the Alabama 10 twice.

LSU takes its first lead

LSU opened the third quarter with an 11-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a 41-yard Starzyk field goal at 11:43, cutting the deficit to 10-6. Alabama's next drive ended in a punt, and Alex Asparuhov pinned the Tigers at their own 9.

The Tigers then put together their best drive of the day. Leavitt hit Harris for 32 yards, and when LSU faced fourth and 5 at the Alabama 37, a pass interference penalty on Carmelo O'Neal kept the drive alive. Jones finished the 90-yard march with a 5-yard touchdown run at 2:44, and LSU led 13-10, its first lead of the game.

Russell answers

Alabama needed 2:08 to take the lead back. Early in the drive, Russell threw deep to Rico Scott for a 57-yard gain. Russell finished the five-play, 75-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ford with 36 seconds left in the third quarter, and Alabama led 17-13.

LSU moved to the Alabama 36 on its next possession, but on fourth and 3 early in the fourth quarter, Woodson broke up a pass for Harris, and the Tigers turned it over on downs again at 12:48.

Twenty-one unanswered

The game turned on special teams. After an Alabama three-and-out, Asparuhov punted 51 yards to the LSU 7, and the Tigers went three-and-out themselves. A delay of game penalty pushed LSU back to its own 11 before the punt, and Grant Chadwick's 46-yard kick was returned 32 yards by Coleman-Williams to the LSU 25.

Russell needed one snap. The quarterback threw to freshman Cederian Morgan for a 25-yard touchdown at 9:44, and Alabama led 24-13.

LSU's next drive went backward. Leavitt was sacked for an 8-yard loss, and on fourth and 10 from the LSU 25, Thompkins sacked Leavitt again for a 7-yard loss to give Alabama the ball at the LSU 18. Three plays later, Russell found Edwards for a 4-yard touchdown at 6:27, the quarterback's third touchdown pass of the half, and it was 31-13.

One more stop, one more takeaway

LSU still moved the ball. The Tigers drove 68 yards to the Alabama 7, but Red Morgan and McDonald broke up back-to-back passes thrown toward the end zone, and on fourth and 2, Woodson stopped Green for no gain after a short catch. It was LSU's fourth turnover on downs and the second time the Tigers came away empty inside the Alabama 10.

Alabama's next drive ended in a punt, but Wilson muffed Asparuhov's 51-yard kick at the LSU 35 and Noah Rogers recovered for the Tide with 2:41 left. Alabama ran out the clock from there.

By the numbers

Russell completed 17 of 24 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns without an interception and ran eight times for 25 yards. Scott caught three passes for 67 yards, Edwards caught three for 50 and a touchdown, and Ford, Morgan and Edwards each caught a touchdown pass. Trae'shawn Brown led a quiet Alabama ground game with 35 yards on 11 carries, and the Tide finished with 79 rushing yards on 29 attempts.

Leavitt completed 35 of 47 passes for 380 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Harris had 11 catches for 166 yards, Green caught 10 passes for 85 yards and Wilson added three catches for 61 yards. Jones ran 17 times for 56 yards and the touchdown and caught seven passes for 36 yards. LSU rushed 33 times for 77 yards.

Metz led Alabama with 11 tackles to go with the interception. Bray Hubbard and Red Morgan made nine tackles each, Woodson had eight with a pass breakup and the fourth-down stop, and McDonald broke up two passes. Thompkins had two of Alabama's four sacks, and Yhonzae Pierre and Terrance Green had one each. TJ Dottery led LSU with nine tackles, and Ty Benefield and DJ Pickett each sacked Russell once.

LSU had 27 first downs to Alabama's 13 and held the ball for 32:45, but the Tigers converted 5 of 14 third downs and none of their four fourth-down tries. Alabama was 3 of 11 on third down and committed seven penalties for 44 yards, to four for 40 for LSU. Asparuhov averaged 49.8 yards on five punts, and Talty made a 43-yard field goal and all four extra points. Starzyk made two of three field goal tries for LSU.

What it means

Alabama has now won two straight since back-to-back losses to Georgia and at Tennessee, a stretch that included the day the Tide, Georgia and Texas all lost on the same Saturday. The Tide came into Saturday No. 5 in the first College Football Playoff rankings and followed a 31-20 win over Texas A&M with a road win in a building where LSU had won 32 of its previous 35 games. Alabama plays at Vanderbilt on Nov. 14, hosts Chattanooga on Nov. 21 and closes the regular season against Auburn on Nov. 28.

For LSU, the loss is the third of the season and snapped a two-game SEC winning streak that included a 38-17 win at Auburn. Lane Kiffin, who left Ole Miss for LSU, was facing Alabama for the first time as the Tigers' coach. LSU, No. 14 in the first playoff rankings, hosts Texas on Nov. 14 in its final home game, then plays at Tennessee on Nov. 21 and at Arkansas on Nov. 28.

Alabama has now won four straight in the series and leads it 59-27-5. Saturday was billed as the last annual meeting between the programs under the SEC's new scheduling format.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: LSU Athletics.