No. 5 Alabama beat No. 14 LSU 31-13 in Baton Rouge on Saturday, handing coach Lane Kiffin his third loss of the season — and during the lopsided finish, an ABC broadcast microphone picked up a fan shouting an expletive-laced message directly at him.
“Hey, Lane, f–k you!” the fan yelled, audible on the national broadcast during a first-and-10 at the Alabama 15-yard line with 4:52 left to play. It is not clear who shouted it or whether the fan was rooting for LSU or Alabama. ABC announcers Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit did not acknowledge the outburst, continuing their discussion of LSU’s defense picking up the blitz.
The game had been close for a while. LSU led 13-10 in the third quarter before Alabama took over, outscoring the Tigers the rest of the way as LSU managed just a single field goal down the stretch.
The loss was the third of the season for Kiffin in his first year at LSU after leaving Ole Miss before last year’s College Football Playoff. LSU falls to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in SEC play, and the Tigers’ playoff hopes now look all but finished. Alabama improved to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the SEC.
Kiffin arrived at the game with a high-profile group that included Shaquille O’Neal, Angel Reese, Paul Skenes and Kevin Costner. Afterward, he did not hide his frustration with how the game slipped away.
“Really disappointing end of the game,” Kiffin said. “You know, we take the lead, actually. With all the stuff we did wrong, especially offensively earlier in the game. You know, we take the lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. After that, they go down and score, and we play a really bad 18 minutes of football. So, disappointed in that. Really disappointed for our fans. I think at that point of taking the lead, the stadium was ready to help take over.”
LSU’s schedule does not ease up. The Tigers host No. 7 Texas and quarterback Arch Manning next Saturday, then travel to face No. 13 Tennessee the following week.
