No. 1 Tide leave no doubts
Jones, Smith and Harris propel a big-play attack as Alabama strikes quickly to stay undefeated with easy victory over Louisiana State.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Mac Jones passed for 385 yards and four touchdowns and No. 1 Alabama used a slew of explosive plays to run away from Louisiana State 55-17 on Saturday night.
Jones threw three of his touchdown passes to Louisiana native DeVonta Smith, who finished with eight catches for 231 yards.
Smith’s first two touchdowns went for 65 and 61 yards to cap three-play, 75-yard drives for Alabama (9-0, 9-0 SEC). But his third touchdown catch from 20 yards out appeared to be his most difficult. He shed close coverage from top LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and made a twisting, leaping catch high over his head before landing on his back deep in the end zone.
Najee Harris rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns in 21 carries, juking, shedding and even leaping over LSU defenders along the way.
LSU (3-5, 3-5) showed signs of life in the second quarter, scoring on a pair of long plays.
One nearly didn’t happen when receiver Kayshon Boutte caught a 43-yard pass and released the ball in celebration just before crossing the goal line. Luckily for LSU, Jontre Kirklin was following the play and picked the ball up in the end zone to complete LSU’s first scoring play against Alabama in Tiger Stadium since 2014.
Later, John Emery Jr. ran for a 54-yard touchdown, the longest run allowed by Alabama this season. Each score pulled LSU as close as two touchdowns, but the Tide answered each with the two deep connections between Jones and Smith.
Jones had 338 yards and four touchdowns passing by halftime, when Smith had seven catches for 219 yards. Smith’s third touchdown gave the Crimson Tide a 45-14 lead by halftime.