A heavy, brutal hit slammed into Lance like a truck, an unforgiving force crashing sideways into him. It was as though his organs were tossed and turned, and a groan escaped his lips.
Before he could regain his footing, a second wave came crashing down, knocking out the last of his strength. His body gave way, falling helplessly.
Roar!—he slammed into the ground with the force of a meteorite striking Earth.
Pain surged like a tidal wave, swallowing his mind. Every muscle, every cell in his body felt the force of the impact, the pressure mounting in his chest. He tried to hold it in—pushing it down, suppressing it—but it grew.
The weight was suffocating, stifling, and infuriating.
His lungs were on fire.
His blood was boiling.
But there was no release, no outlet. He kept crashing into a wall, again and again. The relentless pounding had crushed his fighting spirit, leaving him heavy and downtrodden.
Lance had never felt so overwhelmed.
Since his debut at the spring training camp, this was the first time.
Even though Saban had anticipated a tough, grueling battle, this was beyond anyone's expectations—far surpassing the Mississippi game, undoubtedly the Crimson Tide's greatest test of the season.
Of course, it wasn't that simple—
After eight straight victories, the team was inevitably feeling complacent. Mentally and physically, they were reaching a critical point. The effects of dopamine and adrenaline were fading, leaving behind exhaustion. Their steps felt heavier, their reactions slower, and even their once fiery morale was starting to falter.
In a long season, such highs and lows were unavoidable.
But for Lance, there was no need for excuses. So far, the opponent had simply outperformed them—prepared, focused, and executing perfectly. That was the reality.
The LSU Tigers mirrored the Crimson Tide in their defensive formation, utilizing the "3-4" setup with three defensive linemen and four linebackers.
Clearly, their head coach, Ed Orgeron, had studied Alabama thoroughly, crafting a defense specifically designed to counter the Tide's strengths. From the very beginning, their defense performed exceptionally well.
Orgeron's strategy was crystal clear—
Shut down the running game.
For pass defense, Orgeron relied on two cornerbacks, one linebacker, and a safety to man-mark the Crimson Tide's four receiving threats. He didn't heavily fortify the pass coverage.
However, for run defense, he deployed significant resources. Two linebackers and a safety were dedicated to stopping the running back, while another linebacker acted like a guerrilla, harassing the quarterback on passing plays, constantly keeping pressure on the front line.
It was obvious: this defense was tailor-made to counter the Crimson Tide. They were willing to let Alabama beat them through the air but refused to yield on the ground.
Orgeron's confidence came from both individual talent and teamwork.
LSU's defense was packed with standout players, the biggest star being safety Jamal Adams.
Adams, a junior, was a physical beast—fast, strong, and versatile. He could play both strong safety and free safety, with the ability to cover a lot of ground.
Under both the previous and current coaching staff, Adams had proven his skill, securing a spot in the first round of next year's draft. Many scouts even regarded him as the best safety in college football this year.
Orgeron built his entire defensive strategy around Adams.
As mentioned before, a safety's primary role is to defend the deep field against long passes. But the strong safety often plays more aggressively, sometimes matching up against tight ends or, in rare cases, assisting in run defense.
Orgeron did exactly that.
Adams was positioned further forward, practically just behind the linebackers. His role? Keep an eye on both the tight end and the running back, but mostly the running back.
If Alabama opted for a passing play, Adams could drop back into coverage. If they ran the ball, Adams was the first to step up.
In short, Adams was the key piece of Orgeron's defensive strategy.
And Adams wasn't alone—he had strong support.
Linebackers Duke Riley and Kendell Beckwith weren't elite players, projected to be third or fourth-round picks, but they were reliable blue-collar workers—dedicated, disciplined, and trustworthy.
Riley and Beckwith had one job: shadow the running back.
No matter what, their first move was always to follow the running back, only breaking off to help in pass defense if the quarterback had already thrown the ball.
Plus, with the defensive line poised to strike at any moment, Orgeron had three or even four players focused solely on stopping the run, stacking defenders to suffocate Alabama's ground game. His strategy was clear: force Alabama to pass.
Orgeron was betting on a few things:
First, that Hurts wouldn't dare throw deep.
So, both safeties moved up, essentially leaving the deep field wide open, focusing all their resources on crowding the line of scrimmage.
Second, that Hurts would struggle with short passes.
Orgeron wasn't simply inviting Hurts to pass. LSU's cornerbacks, Tre'Davious White (a first-round talent) and Donte Jackson (a projected top-three-round player), were responsible for man-to-man coverage.
Unlike the run defense, Orgeron relied on individual talent for pass defense, expecting his players to win their one-on-one matchups.
Even if they didn't always succeed, the goal was to make Hurts work for it, constantly pressuring him.
Third, that Hurts would crumble under pressure.
With four linebackers at his disposal, Orgeron used two to shadow the running backs, while the other two moved unpredictably.
Sometimes they assisted in pass coverage, sometimes in run defense, and sometimes they blitzed, joining the defensive line in putting pressure on Hurts.
With all these factors at play, Hurts' lack of experience and inexperience under pressure became glaring weaknesses, and Alabama's passing attack faced constant challenges.
In the past, the Crimson Tide had always relied on their ground game to bail them out. Their running backs would disrupt the defense, easing the pressure on Hurts and opening up space for the passing game. But today, Orgeron's targeted defense completely shut down the running game, leaving Alabama's offense paralyzed.
LSU had both individual talent and cohesive teamwork, fully committed to stopping Alabama.
The second half had started, but the score remained unchanged.
While LSU's offense also kept crashing into the Crimson Tide's brutal defense, being repeatedly ground into the dirt, Alabama's offense fared no better.
Lance had once again run into a wall, taken down by a double-team tackle, a standard occurrence.
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