Lane Kiffin and his LSU football team had a weird first half in their 31-13 loss to Alabama. The Tigers' second quarter was particularly rough as they missed a field goal, turned the ball over on downs in the red zone, and threw an costly interception on their three drives.

Kiffin's call to go for it on fourth down inside the 10 was one of a couple the LSU coach made relatively early in the game as he got aggressive with his play-calling. As he explained post-game, the sense he got on the sideline was that the Tigers couldn't settle for field goals if they were going to win the game.

“It kind of felt the start of the game, both teams moving the ball. We got the field goal. It kind of felt down there like it was probably going to be more high-scoring than it ended up being through three quarters. And so it just kind of felt like there was a time there where field goals weren't going to win the game,” Kiffin said.

Article Continues Below

Kiffin also went for it on fourth down during a third-quarter drive that ended up paying off. Alabama was called for a pass interference penalty, and LSU went on to score a touchdown in that drive to take a 13-10 lead.

However, the Tigers were unable to convert on any of their three fourth-down attempts in the fourth quarter as the Crimson Tide eventually pulled away for a 31-13 win. At 6-3, LSU's already faint College Football Playoff hopes in Lane Kiffin's first year look all but over.