Alabama football beat LSU on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, winning the game 42-28. The Crimson Tide moved to 8-1 on the season and remain undefeated at 6-0 in SEC play with the win.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s matchup with the Tigers.

The shootout

This was never going to be a defensive battle. The 9-6 2011 game is a remnant of the distant past for both Alabama and LSU.

On Saturday, both offenses were rolling. There weren’t many defensive stops, but each of them felt like a small miracle.

Alabama lost a possession when Will Reichard missed his first of two field goals of the season, a 47-yarder. Last time Reichard missed, Alabama lost to Tennessee in 2022, so the short kick felt like a bad omen, but the Tigers also missed kick.

The Tide got a stop when Malachi Moore made a play to break up a fourth-down pass. Alabama capitalized on that drive.

LSU didn’t punt until the second half. Later on, Terrion Arnold intercepted a tipped pass, which turned into the Jase McClellan run that put the Tide up two scores in the fourth quarter.

Milroe’s moving

Alabama went down 7-0 to start the game, after faltering on its first offensive drive. After that, the Crimson Tide seemed to figure some things out for the rest of the first quarter.

After LSU’s touchdown, the Tide took five plays to drive 76-yards and tie the game. The score that did it came on a play Alabama hadn’t broken out for a few weeks, a designed quarterback run for Jalen Milroe.

Milroe took off to his left on that play, getting the blocks he needed and showing enough elusiveness to make the 23-yard play. He’d do it again later in the quarter.

After safety Malachi Moore made a play on an LSU fourth-and-one to give Alabama the ball back, the Tide drove to the Tiger four-yard-line. Milroe lined up under center on third-and-one and tried to run directly up the middle for a first down.

That didn’t quite happen, and he ended up going off-tackle. It worked out well anyway and he rolled into the end zone to give the Tide a 14-0 lead.

On Alabama’s final drive of the half, he did it again, looking to throw before taking off and going 21 yards for his third rushing touchdown, accounting for all of UA’s offensive production in the first half.

Tough to tackle

UA would have had the lead at halftime. After Milroe’s third touchdown, Alabama had a chance to head to the locker room up 21-14.

That wasn’t to be. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels had other plans.

The Crimson Tide knew Daniels was a threat. Nick Saban talked about him throughout the week.

“I think overall they execute their offense to perfection, and it starts with him,” Saban said because he makes the right reads relative to runs and passes and zone option plays and pass down plays. He’s very good at reading coverages, makes really quick decisions.”

Throughout the first half, Daniels simply refused to go down. His runs kept multiple LSU drives alive, and he went to the halftime break with 137 rushing yards and a touchdown, one that tied the game at 21 before the half. Daniels saw his night end following a hit by Dallas Turner in the 4th quarter.