(Editor’s note: Check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of CBR’s LSU-Alabama recap series. In Part 4, the CBR staff discusses who the game’s most valuable player was.)
Who was your MVP?
Aaron Torres: I’d probably say Jordan Jefferson. That’s no disrespect to Drew Alleman, no disrespect to Brad Wing, and certainly no disrespect to the entire LSU defense. But if Jefferson doesn’t come in, step up, and play the game of his life, LSU doesn’t win. He was at times electric, at times a bit scatter-brained, but no doubt the calming influence that LSU needed, since Jarrett Lee clearly was not mentally prepared to play in that game.
Had Lee been forced to play the entire game, I suspect this one would’ve turned into a laugher. Instead, it turned into an instant classic, one for the ages, and one LSU wouldn’t have won without Jefferson.
Allen Kenney: It’s only fitting that a punter would be the MVP of a 9-6 game, huh? LSU’s Brad Wing pinned the Tide inside the 20 on four of his six punts. That 73-yard rocket he hit in the fourth quarter may have been just as important in this game as the goal line interception that preceded it.
Tom Perry: Jordan Jefferson didn’t have big numbers, but he gave LSU a lift when it was clear Jarrett Lee couldn’t get it done. It opened up a few areas of the offense, like the option, and that put a little more pressure on the Alabama defense. If LSU had been forced to stick with Lee all game I don’t think the Tigers could have won the game.
Regie Eller: I’ll go with co-MVPs in LSU punter Brad Wing, and DB Eric Reid.
Brad Wing in a game like this was so pivotal to field position. Neither offense was to the level of the opposing defense, so Alabama constantly starting form inside its own 10-yard line was tremendous.
LSU’s secondary is the best in the country, and it is not even close. The interception by safety Eric Reid proved that again in my eyes. He tracked that pass beautifully and came across the field to make the pick. Reid also had 6 tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
Michael Felder: Everyone’s going to say Wing, and with my special teams love I’ll agree. But instead of just one MVP, I’m going with one on offense, defense and special teams. Brad Wing gets the MVP for the special teams, barely ahead of Drew Alleman the field goal kicker. On the offense, give me Jordan Jefferson. Forty-three rushing yards on 11 carries, and the option of all LSU plays was the most taxing for the Tide defense. He also completed 6 of 10 passes for 67 yards and, most importantly, no picks.
On defense, I could go with Eric Reid, the man with an interception and 6 tackles, including five to open the game. Or perhaps Ryan Baker, the linebacker who did a solid job making run fits and had 8 tackles last night. But no, I’m going with my man, the best corner in the nation, MO CLAIBORNE. He was causing problems all night, and his one pass break up and one crucial interception don’t tell the full story of how effective was at shutting down A.J. McCarron and making the sophomore QB think twice before he made the pass.
Kevin McGuire: Without a doubt, it has to be LSU punter Brad Wing. In a game that was all about field position, you have to look at the punter seriously as the most pivotal player in the game. Except for the one bad punt he had, Wing pinned Alabama back in not so favorable field position time and time again, and his 73-yard punt from the end zone may have been the play of the game (although I’m not sure Maze should have been back fielding the punt given his ankle situation).
