December 5, 2020 Week 14 · Regular Season Belt defended

Alabama defends the belt, 55–17, on the road at LSU.

Home · Challenger

LSU 17

Away · Defending Holder

AlabamaAP No. 1 55

AP poll, week 14: Alabama No. 1 at LSU unranked · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Alabama came in 7 days into reign #315, which began with a win over Auburn, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. Alabama went on to defend it 9 more times before Texas A&M took it on October 9, 2021, 315 days after the reign began.

For LSU this was its 20th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 8 times before.

It was the 6th of 6 belt games between the two; going in, Alabama led the belt series 4–1; all-time Alabama leads 5–1. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Alabama's dominant offensive performance powered the defending belt holder to a convincing 55-17 victory over LSU on the road in Baton Rouge. The Crimson Tide's passing attack was nearly unstoppable, with Mac Jones connecting on explosive plays throughout the game, including a 65-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith in the second quarter and multiple other deep shots that LSU's secondary couldn't contain. Alabama methodically built its lead with an efficient ground game anchored by Najee Harris, who scored on short runs in the first quarter and again in the third, while the defense consistently disrupted LSU's offense with Christian Barmore recording a crucial sack and forced fumble. Despite a briefly competitive first half that saw LSU's Kayshon Boutte haul in a touchdown reception, Alabama's relentless execution and superior time of possession ultimately put the game far out of reach.

Najee Harris's two early touchdown runs (14 yards and 1 yard in Q1) set the tone for Alabama's dominance and quick 14-0 lead
DeVonta Smith's back-to-back long touchdown receptions (65 and 61 yards in Q2) established the passing game's advantage and extended Alabama's lead to 28-7
Christian Barmore's sack and forced fumble on TJ Finley in Q2 halted an LSU drive and exemplified Alabama's defensive pressure
Kayshon Boutte's fumble on the opening kickoff return of Q1 gave Alabama prime field position early in a game where field position became critical

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

LSUAlabama

Total yards351650

Rushing yards98265

Passing yards253385

First downs2132

3rd down conv.5/164/9

Turnovers11

Penalties–yards4–304–43

Time of possession26:4332:52

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 12:45	Alabama	+24 yd	Mac Jones pass complete to John Metchie III for 24 yds to the LSU 19 for a 1ST down
Q1 11:56	Alabama	+14 yd	Najee Harris 14 Yd Run (Will Reichard Kick)
Q1 7:43	Alabama	+27 yd	Mac Jones pass complete to Jahleel Billingsley for 27 yds to the Alab 42 for a 1ST down
Q1 7:09	Alabama	+43 yd	Najee Harris run for 28 yds to the LSU 30 for a 1ST down LSU Penalty, Personal Foul (JaCoby Stevens) to the LSU 15 for a 1ST down
Q1 5:50	Alabama	+1 yd	Najee Harris 1 Yd Run (Will Reichard Kick)
Q1 2:27	Alabama	+24 yd	Jahleel Billingsley 24 Yd pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard Kick)
Q1 2:26	Alabama	+59 yd	Chase Allen kickoff for 59 yds , Kayshon Boutte return for a loss of 1 yard to the LSU 5 Kayshon Boutte fumbled, recovered by LSU Kayshon Boutte
Q1 0:41	LSU	+23 yd	TJ Finley pass complete to Kayshon Boutte for 8 yds to the LSU 27 for a 1ST down ALABAMA Penalty, Roughing Passer (Christian Harris) to the LSU 42 for a 1ST down
Q2 14:53	LSU	+1 yd	TJ Finley pass complete to Kayshon Boutte for 43 yds for a TD Kayshon Boutte fumbled, recovered by LSU Jontre Kirklin , return for 1 yd, (Cade York KICK)
Q2 13:36	Alabama	+65 yd	DeVonta Smith 65 Yd pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard Kick)
Q2 12:32	LSU	+54 yd	John Emery Jr. 54 Yd Run (Cade York Kick)
Q2 13:28	Alabama	+26 yd	Chase Allen kickoff for 60 yds , Kayshon Boutte return for 26 yds to the LSU 31
Q2 11:14	Alabama	+61 yd	DeVonta Smith 61 Yd pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard Kick)
Q2 9:17	LSU	-3 yd	TJ Finley sacked by Christian Barmore for a loss of 3 yards to the Alab 47 TJ Finley fumbled, forced by Christian Barmore, recovered by LSU TJ Finley , return for 0 yards
Q2 11:06	LSU	+20 yd	John Emery Jr. run for 20 yds to the LSU 45 for a 1ST down
Q2 3:20	Alabama	+30 yd	Will Reichard 30 Yd Field Goal
Q2 6:24	Alabama	+48 yd	Mac Jones pass complete to DeVonta Smith for 48 yds to the LSU 26 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:46	Alabama	+20 yd	DeVonta Smith 20 Yd pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard Kick)
Q3 14:53	Alabama	+25 yd	Will Reichard kickoff for 58 yds , Kayshon Boutte return for 25 yds to the LSU 32
Q3 8:24	Alabama	+2 yd	Mac Jones pass complete to Slade Bolden for 19 yds Slade Bolden fumbled, forced by Jay Ward, recovered by LSU Derek Stingley Jr. , return for 2 yds to the LSU 26
Q3 6:58	LSU	-3 yd	TJ Finley pass complete to Arik Gilbert for a loss of 3 yards Arik Gilbert fumbled, forced by Christopher Allen, recovered by Alab Christopher Allen
Q3 3:39	Alabama	+11 yd	Najee Harris 11 Yd Run (Will Reichard Kick)
Q3 0:31	LSU	+52 yd	Cade York 52 Yd Field Goal
Q4 10:50	Alabama	+34 yd	Will Reichard 34 Yd Field Goal
Q4 10:41	LSU	+21 yd	Max Johnson pass complete to Jontre Kirklin for 21 yds to the LSU 46 for a 1ST down
Q4 3:07	Alabama	+25 yd	Jase McClellan run for 25 yds to the Alab 39 for a 1ST down

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

LSU

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
TJ Finley	14/28	143	5.1	1	0
Max Johnson	11/17	110	6.5	0	0

Alabama

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Mac Jones	20/28	385	13.8	4	0
Bryce Young	0/1	0	0.0	0	0

Rushing

LSU

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
John Emery Jr.	7	79	11.3	1	54
Tyrion Davis-Price	8	24	3.0	0	9
Tre Bradford	1	5	5.0	0	5
Max Johnson	5	2	0.4	0	4
TJ Finley	6	-12	-2.0	0	5

Alabama

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Najee Harris	21	145	6.9	3	28
Brian Robinson Jr.	11	62	5.6	0	11
Jase McClellan	5	48	9.6	0	25
Roydell Williams	3	19	6.3	0	9
Team	2	-2	-1.0	0	0
Bryce Young	1	-7	-7.0	0	0

Receiving

LSU

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Kayshon Boutte	8	110	13.8	0	43
Tory Carter	3	33	11.0	0	15
Jontre Kirklin	2	31	15.5	1	21
Arik Gilbert	5	29	5.8	0	15
Trey Palmer	2	16	8.0	0	13
Koy Moore	3	16	5.3	0	9
Tre Bradford	1	12	12.0	0	12
John Emery Jr.	1	7	7.0	0	7

Alabama

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
DeVonta Smith	8	231	28.9	3	65
Jahleel Billingsley	4	68	17.0	1	27
John Metchie	4	58	14.5	0	24
Slade Bolden	1	19	19.0	0	19
Brian Robinson Jr.	1	6	6.0	0	6
Najee Harris	2	3	1.5	0	8

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Defense

LSU

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD
Damone Clark	13	3	0	0	0
Jabril Cox	9	4	0	0	0
JaCoby Stevens	8	4	0	1	0
Micah Baskerville	7	5	0	0	0
Neil Farrell Jr.	6	1	0	0	0
Ali Gaye	5	3	1	2	0
Eli Ricks	4	3	0	0	2
Derek Stingley Jr.	4	2	0	0	1
Todd Harris Jr.	4	1	0	0	0
Jaquelin Roy	4	1	0	0	0
Maurice Hampton Jr.	3	3	0	0	0
Cordale Flott	3	0	0	0	0
Jay Ward	2	1	0	0	0
Andre Anthony	2	0	0	0	0
Cameron Lewis	1	1	0	0	0
Glen Logan	1	0	0	0	0

Alabama

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Will Anderson Jr.	8	4	2	2	0	0
DeMarcco Hellams	8	2	0	0.5	1	0
Christian Harris	7	1	0.5	0.5	0	0
Josh Jobe	6	5	1	1	2	0
Malachi Moore	6	5	0	0	0	1
Jordan Battle	5	3	0	0	0	0
Daniel Wright	3	3	0	0	0	0
Christopher Allen	3	2	0	1	0	1
Joshua McMillon	3	1	0	0	0	0
Dylan Moses	3	1	0	0	1	0
Justin Eboigbe	3	1	0	0	0	0
Phidarian Mathis	3	0	0	0	0	0
Byron Young	3	0	0.5	1	0	0
DJ Dale	3	0	0	0	0	0
Drew Sanders	2	0	0	0	0	0
Jamil Burroughs	2	0	0	0	0	0
Christian Barmore	1	1	1	1	0	0
Najee Harris	1	1	0	0	0	0
Ale Kaho	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tim Smith	1	1	0	0	0	0
Patrick Surtain II	0	0	0	0	1	0

Fumbles

LSU

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Derek Stingley Jr.	0	0	2
Kayshon Boutte	2	0	0
Arik Gilbert	1	1	0
TJ Finley	1	0	0

Alabama

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Christopher Allen	0	0	1
Slade Bolden	1	1	0

Kick Returns

LSU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Kayshon Boutte	3	50	16.7	26	0
Josh Williams	1	4	4.0	4	0

Alabama

No recorded stats in this category.

Kicking

LSU

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Cade York	1/1	100.0	52	2/2	5

Alabama

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Will Reichard	2/2	100.0	34	7/7	13

Punting

LSU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Zach Von Rosenberg	6	206	34.3	0	1	45

Alabama

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Charlie Scott	1	33	33.0	0	0	33

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 401265817) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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