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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Alabama stunned LSU 31-13 on Saturday night in Baton Rouge in a crucial win that both teams desperately needed to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
The game was kept close into the third quarter before the Tigers took their first lead, 13-10, just as Crimson Tide quarterback Keelon Russell was shaken up on the previous drive and in the medical tent with an ankle injury. Russell returned with the ankle heavily taped up and immediately led a 75-yard touchdown drive, hitting tight end Josh Ford from seven yards out to put Alabama back in front.
The defense then forced a stop, and Russell hit freshman receiver Cederian Morgan for a 25-yard touchdown that made it 24-13. He added a 4-yard score to Kaleb Edwards, finishing with three touchdown passes and 206 passing yards, completing 17 of 24 passes. Alabama improved to 7-2 and 5-2 in SEC play, while LSU dropped to 6-3 and 3-3 in SEC.
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Asked by ESPN's Holly Rowe how he came back from the injury tent to make the biggest throw of the game, Russell said it came down to fight.
"I mean, it's just fight. Coach always talks about the toughest guy in the building. I wasn't going to just sit there and let my team starve. I feel like I was gritty enough to just go out there," Russell said. "All the external stuff, we fight over things. But ankle injury, that's the least of my concerns. I got to go out here and win this game. It's life or death situation right now. We got to go to the playoffs, baby. I got to come out here and do my thing."
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Russell is a sophomore who arrived in Tuscaloosa as a unanimous five-star recruit and the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2025 class, after flipping from SMU. He spent last season behind first-round pick Ty Simpson, then beat out Austin Mack for the starting job before the start of the season. He's since emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in college football.
Russell led the Crimson Tide to a commanding 48-10 win over East Carolina in his first start, then a huge 400-yard, five-touchdown night against South Carolina a few weeks later. After Saturday's win over LSU, he's completed over 67% of his throws for 2,263 yards and 18 touchdowns with just five interceptions across nine games, along with 276 rushing yards and five rushing scores, emerging as a potential Heisman candidate.
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The win gave Alabama a major statement win on the road, and the Tide are now in a strong position with just three games left: at Vanderbilt, at home against Chattanooga and Auburn. LSU, meanwhile, with its third loss, likely saw its playoff hopes slip away. It still has Texas at home next weekend, though, followed by trips to Tennessee and Arkansas. If they win out, there's still technically a path for them to make the CFP.
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