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RED BATON, La. – All this gumbo, all these drinks for adults, all the t-shirts "Not Today Saban". All the energy and hype, all the hash tags (#freedevinwhite) wasted in and around the Tiger Stadium for Game of the Century, no matter what Roman numeral you want to put behind.
All of this, as the number 1 Alabama stuffed, reminding the Tigers and the country on Saturday night: The Tide, that 's what we thought they were.
And maybe a little more.
Alabama's 29-0 win was not quite as caricatural as his other eight wins, but it was clearly the most impressive of the season.
The defense that was questioned – 16th of the country, the horror! – launched its third Tigers white game since 2012 (all in Louisiana).
Tua Tagovailoa's quarterback of the tide was just as deadly, scoring a career record 42 times (25 times), but revealed real human traits in the process. Tagovailoa made his first interception of the season during his 179th campaign run. It did not even touch him a bit. He then followed up with a 44-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which lasted his entire career, to put the festivities on the back burner.
Tua's only tragedy – a grimace and a limp as he leaves the field – is a reminder that his sprained knee suffered earlier this season. Tua called it a "tweak". Saban called something less than that.
"He does not hurt his knee anymore," said Saban. "He really recovered from that, he seemed to be running for me."
What seemed worse – for the long-term health of the Alabama championship hopes – was a sack on the game's first player who had been shattered by a false start. On the 11th day, Tagovailoa was sandwiched between Grant Delpit and Kary Vincent Jr.
While Tua was slow to get up, the decibel level in the Death Valley reached 109, which is about the sound of the chainsaw passing by your ears.
It is better not to say the "injury", but let's just say that men can understand.
"I will not tell you where he was touched," Saban said. "I was really happy to hear that it was there that he was hit because I knew he would be back."
Tagovailoa has missed everything in one room. Hitting in the air was clearly Saban's strategy. With 31 shots at half-time, Tagovailoa has already surpassed its previous career-high (30). And for those who played Tua in the fourth quarter for the first time this season, cash your tickets. It turns out that the child can play in the last 15 minutes. But we already knew it from January.
Not that Saban needed him on Saturday. Unless LSU's linebacker Devin White is a defender and offense, this one had the feeling of being at half-time. White, suspended for targeting in the first period, had eight tackles in the second half. In the same space, Alabama added 13 more points.
The same night, those 109 decibels assailed the ears, there was the slow release of energy from the 102,000 people who had been waiting all day from a crimson tiger lure.
They have a result pushed to the face.
"I will not tell [we’re] Tagovailoa said: "Unstoppable or unbeatable, I feel like we are moving into this mode where we have a good pace in attack, we will try to make every opportunity count."
Against an elite defense, Bama won 576 yards, accumulating 29 first tries. Meanwhile, LSU did not win any goals or a negative score on 20 of its first 35 tries. This betrayed the effort that the Tigers put into the pre-match. Coach Ed Orgeron arrived early in the student section.
Defensive back Breiden Fehoko came out early with two teammates and did the Polynesian Haka dance. The crowd went crazy. The Tigers fell flat.
If flat, they were exceeded 281-12 by the tide. Alabama's defense scored 10 tackles for defeat and five sacks. Joe Burrow, LSU's inspirational quarterback, ran for life most of the night.
"Our offensive line was beaten one-on-one," said Orgeron. "We had maximum protection, these guys were beating us, they knocked us out, we tried everything."
The tide has as much potential on a place for college football matches as there may be four days in November. With the win, they locked SEC West.
It is safe to assume that Bama can afford a loss from now while joining the PCP. Even though it's for Georgia in the SEC Championship game four weeks from Saturday night.
That's unless this loss comes back to La Citadelle on November 17th, which does not even deserve to be mentioned.
After what we saw and what they did, would you separate them from the first four?
When did the Alabama calendar become that of the UCF? You know, the list of Knights who laughed a lot on Thursday played (and beat) their first team with a winning record.
Alabama has now defeated two of the top 25 teams by a total of 51 points. (The other being Texas A & M, 45-23 Sept. 22). It turned out that no matter who plays Bama. It's just that good. Again.
"We really wanted to make a statement in this match," said Saban. "Many people have spoken [our] program."
Alabama 's performance was lower than his average victory margin (38) and his average points (54), but it was to be expected in the face of a ranked defense in the top 10.
It was sort of a national televised confirmation of what was obvious: In a sense, Alabama has become all that SEC Loyalists are known for their aversion to hate: finesse, sometimes, finesse, high score .
If BYU redefined the game in the 1970s and 1980s, these Loyalists would mock this offense. Because it looks like Clemson in many ways, they must respect it. Clemson beat Alabama once in the playoffs, and the trend is at the fourth consecutive meeting in the CFP in two months.
But let's go back to the present. There was a wonder all over the country what would be the crucial moment for Bama. Tagovailoa, the leader of the Heisman Trophy, took less than 60% of the shots in one season. The kid and his team had not been shaken.
I asked Saban to keep his team strong for this difficult time when Alabama won games with more than five touchdowns. He said that he could only use a boxing analogy: put down your gloves and you'll be hit in the mouth. Nick loves boxing. Just a hint, but he is falling in love with this team.
"There would be a choice that everyone would have to make in the game today," concluded Saban. "If they would continue to fight or surrender to the circumstances."
The purple and gold partygoers and their team finally surrendered.
At least the gumbo was good.
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