Rain was falling in Baton Rouge, the kind of heavy, persistent drizzle that usually makes Tiger Stadium feel like a pressure cooker for visiting teams. It was November 9, 2024. If you were there, or even just watching on ABC, you felt it—that specific "Sabanesque" dread, even though Nick Saban was sitting in a TV studio and Kalen DeBoer was the one wearing the headset.
People called it a playoff elimination game. They weren't wrong. Both teams walked in with two losses, effectively playing for their lives in the new 12-team College Football Playoff era. But by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, it wasn't a fight. It was a funeral. Alabama walked out with a 42-13 win that felt even wider than the 29-point margin suggested.
Honestly, the most shocking part wasn't that LSU lost. It’s that they looked so completely helpless against the one thing they knew was coming.
LSU v Alabama 2024: What Most People Get Wrong
If you just look at the box score, you see 42-13 and assume Garrett Nussmeier had a nightmare. And yeah, throwing two interceptions—including a backbreaker to Deontae Lawson in the end zone—isn't great. But the real story of LSU v Alabama 2024 wasn't the Tigers' passing game. It was the absolute disintegration of the LSU run defense.
Everyone knew Jalen Milroe was going to run. It’s his "superpower," as DeBoer put it after the game. Yet, LSU played like they were seeing a mobile quarterback for the first time in their lives. Milroe didn’t just beat them; he humiliated them, racking up 185 rushing yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries.
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That’s 15.4 yards every time he tucked the ball. Basically, every time Milroe decided to run, Alabama was guaranteed a first down and then some.
The Milroe Effect and the "Dam" That Broke
Brian Kelly used a specific metaphor in his post-game presser: "The dam broke." He wasn't talking about the weather. He was talking about a defensive scheme that held up for exactly one quarter before dissolving into chaos.
LSU actually struck first with a field goal, and for a second, it felt like we were in for a classic 2011-style defensive slugfest. Then Milroe happened. His first score was a 39-yard sprint that made the LSU secondary look like they were running in sand.
- First Quarter: Alabama 14, LSU 3 (Justice Haynes added a 1-yard plunge).
- Second Quarter: A glimmer of hope. LSU cuts it to 14-6. Then a fumble. Milroe scores from 10 yards out. 21-6 at half.
- Third Quarter: The "Death Valley" effect evaporates. Milroe 19-yard TD. 28-6.
- Fourth Quarter: The exclamation point. A 72-yard touchdown run by Milroe that sent half the stadium to the parking lot before the rain could get any worse.
Why the LSU Scheme Failed So Badly
The consensus leading up to the game was that LSU's defensive coordinator, Blake Baker, would find a way to contain the edge. LSU had two weeks to prepare. Two weeks. And yet, Milroe consistently found lanes that were wide enough to drive a truck through.
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The Tigers were caught in "no man's land." If they crashed the edges to stop the run, Milroe had enough time to find Ryan Williams or Jamarion Miller (who was sneaky good with 50 receiving yards). If they played back, Milroe just took off.
Garrett Nussmeier finished with 239 yards, but most of that felt like empty calories. The Tigers didn't find the end zone until there were 11 seconds left in the game—a 12-yard pass to Kyren Lacy that didn't even warrant a celebration.
Hard Truths and Playoff Reality
This game effectively ended LSU’s playoff hopes. They dropped toward the bottom of the Top 25, while Alabama catapulted themselves back into the conversation for a home game in the first round.
It also raised some "kinda" uncomfortable questions about the gap between Brian Kelly’s program and the elite tier of the SEC. Losing to Alabama is one thing; getting "Joyless Murderballed" on your own turf is another.
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Kelly was blunt: "We did not live up to the standard of LSU football. That affects us more than the damn playoffs."
Actionable Takeaways from the 2024 Matchup
If you're a fan or a bettor looking at how this rivalry shifted, here are the real-world implications moving forward:
- The Mobile QB Problem: LSU’s struggle wasn't a fluke. It followed a pattern seen earlier against Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed. If you’re scouting LSU in the future, look at the opposing QB's rushing over/under.
- The "Nuss" Ceiling: Nussmeier is a pure pocket passer. In a game where the opponent has a dual-threat weapon like Milroe, the lack of mobility in the LSU backfield makes them one-dimensional when they fall behind by two scores.
- Alabama's Identity Shift: Under DeBoer, Bama isn't just a "grind it out" team. They are opportunistic. They scored 42 points on only 66 plays. That efficiency is what makes them dangerous in a playoff format.
If you want to understand the current state of SEC football, don't just watch the highlights of the 72-yard run. Watch the 3rd-and-longs where LSU’s defense looked paralyzed by the threat of the run. That’s where the game was won.
To truly see how this impacted the final 2024 standings, you should compare this performance to Alabama's late-season win over Oklahoma to see how their offensive confidence snowballed from this rainy night in Baton Rouge.