Ty Simpson threw for 277 yards and a touchdown Saturday night as No. 4 Alabama stayed unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference by stopping visiting LSU 20-9 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Simpson completed 21 of 35 passes, again carrying the offensive load for the Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0 SEC). His 13-yard strike to Ryan Williams with 22 seconds left in the first half gave them an insurmountable 17-3 lead.
Alabama’s defense kept the Tigers (5-4, 2-4) out of the end zone in their first game under interim coach Frank Wilson, who took over after Brian Kelly was fired on Oct. 26 after a 49-25 home loss to unbeaten Texas A&M.
But Wilson couldn’t fix the offensive issues that have marked LSU this season. Not even a change at quarterback late in the third quarter could supply a spark for the Tigers. Wilson benched starter Garrett Nussmeier after he took a sack that forced them to settle for Damien Ramos’ 44-yard field goal at the 8:54 mark.
Backup Michael Van Buren, a transfer who started last year at Mississippi State, took over but couldn’t get LSU into the end zone. He was 5 of 11 for 52 yards, leading a drive that resulted in Ramos’ 37-yard field goal with 10:28 left in the game that made it 17-9.
However, the Tide took advantage of a short field to salt the game away. Conor Talty converted a 44-yard field goal with 4:25 remaining to make it a two-possession game.
Talty opened the scoring by booming a 45-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the first quarter, followed by Ramos’ 37-yarder 2:33 into the second quarter. Alabama answered back with the first touchdown of the game, marching 75 yards in seven plays and taking a 10-3 lead when Daniel Hill scored on a 4-yard run with 9:25 on the clock.
The Tide outgained the Tigers 347-233 but again got little from their struggling running game. They managed just 59 yards on 23 attempts. LSU didn’t do much better, collecting 60 yards on 25 attempts.
