DeBoer Praises Tide's Defense In Win Over LSU

TUSCALOOSA. Ala. - The Alabama defense once again carried the Crimson Tide's offense when the Tide's offense was struggling to establish consistency. Ty Simpson led the Crimson Tide to 20 points, but the Alabama defense held the LSU Tigers without a touchdown on Saturday night, with LSU scoring just nine points on four redzone trips.

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"Defensively, I thought we fought for four quarters," DeBoer said on Saturday after the Tide's 20-9 victory over the LSU Tigers.

The Tide's defense clamped down on the LSU passing attack in the second quarter, allowing just 43 total yards, and only eight passing yards in the second quarter. Alabama's complementary play led to two touchdowns for Alabama in the second quarter, which were enough for the Crimson Tide to secure the victory had Alabama not scored in the second half.

DeBoer was asked if the Alabama defense had turned a corner after the win, and the Crimson Tide's head coach praised his defensive unit.

"I mean, I feel like they've been playing pretty solid. I feel like they, whether it's turned a corner, I feel like they keep getting better, you know?" DeBoer asked after Alabama's 20-9 win over LSU. "I feel like they, last week, I think there were some things - we gave up an explosive on one play, and I thought we were stingy at times. They got a short field last week, two weeks ago, I guess, against South Carolina. But I think there is a mindset that they have.

I think there's a mindset that is built on trust. And guys are doing their job. There's less of the explosive plays where one guy makes a mistake, doesn't fit a gap. We're seeing less and less of that. And so, again, just doing your job, understanding how to play certain blocks, knowing where your helps at leveraging, and then guys getting the ball. They have a mindset right now where, if they hustle, they will end up creating breaks. We just missed a couple opportunities, I think, with the ball on the ground or ball getting tipped in the air. And so we'll keep making those plays, and they're timely at the end of the game and early in the game to give us a little cushion there at the beginning. So I like the way that they play. I like their mindset and getting that. I'm confident they'll back to work again tomorrow."

Alabama's offense turned the ball over once, when Ty Simpson was stripped on his own side of the field by LSU linebacker Harold Perkins, setting the defense up in a rough spot on their own side of the field. The Tigers came away with just three points after traveling just 18 yards down the field.

"I think, again, when the turnover happened tonight, and they get put in that spot where it is a short field. They did a nice job," DeBoer said. "They even got inside the 10, if I remember right. And we just keep reminding the guys to continue to make them snap it again. Then our crowd comes and helps us out with getting some false starts. That's huge. That was a problem for them the entire game. So, you know, huge props to our fans for staying in there with us in the big moments and helping us out there. Our guys feed off that energy, and that puts the offense in a tough spot when they're behind the sticks, especially in the red zone. So, yeah, I think there's times when you go for it on fourth down over the course of the year, and that's me trusting the defense as much as I am trusting the offense. And there's times when they've had their back to the wall for whatever reason, you know, a takeaway by the opponent, and they've just buckled down and settled in and trusted each other."

Alabama's next game will come next Saturday, November 15, against No. 12 Oklahoma. The Sooners had a bye week this week. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.