Re: Would Mathieu have made a difference tonight for lsu?
It's hard to say, but it is possible that he could have been exploited. In terms of just coverage, he's not that great. It is the other things he does that were so important. He would have changed the game some, but I don't think there is any way to say thet win with him.
Alabama almost put the game on ice up until that fumble. The statistics leaned towards LSU, but part of that was a string of bad breaks for Alabama. LSU never stopped Alabama's running game, and LSU's running game never really got going against Alabama. The game played out that way because LSU had a few more big passing plays than Alabama, coupled with Alabama's two turnovers. You play that game again and there's no way that third downs go the way they did twice. You change the game at all, and it's quite possible that it favors the team that was more fundamentally sound, which was Alabama.