NEW ORLEANS — LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe put on a quarterbacking duel for the ages with Milroe coming out on top and Daniels suffering a scary-looking concussion that forced him from the game in the fourth quarter in a 42-28 loss to the Tide.
CBS reported that Daniels was diagnosed with a concussion and that his mother had joined him in the sideline injury tent.
Daniels was apparently concussed on a pass play when he was hit under the chin by Alabama linebacker Dallas Bryant in a move that CBS’ announcers and the retired official in the booth said should have been reviewed for targeting. After the game LSU head coach Brian Kelly said he was told on the sideline that the play was being reviewed in the replay booth.
LSU was trailing 42-28 at the time.
Daniels actually came back onto the field two plays after the hit but before an official play could be run, he was back out of the game.
'He had a head injury and wasn't able to come back," said Brian Kelly after the game. "We'll have to have more tests before we can say if he was concussed."
Kelly said that Daniels had been cleared to return but that he was looked at again and deemed not to be able to return. "Those decisions are made by our medical team," he said.
Both Daniels and Milroe seemed to toy with outclassed defenders, using designed runs for key gains and scores and when the pocket broke down on pass plays, taking off and running for spirit-breaking gains.
Daniels had 137 yards rushing in the first half, Milroe 102. Both also showed some aplomb with the passing game but both proved far more dangerous when the other defense seemed to have the offensive play call figured out.
Both Milroe and Daniels completed 15 passes on the night for 219 yards. Daniels threw a pair of touchdowns. Milroe ran for four touchdowns. Daniels ran for one.
The game basically came down to Alabama getting some stops against LSU, while the Tigers got very few of Bama's offense.
"We’re playing a top 10 team on the road," said Kelly. "We played good tonight. Good’s not good enough. You have to play elite when you go on the road and play a top 10 team."