LSUs Brian Kelly goes for two to stun Al

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Brian Kelly came to LSU, presumably, because he thought he could compete for national championships more readily than he could at Notre Dame. That he could compete more realistically with Nick Saban and Alabama.And the first time Brian Kelly had the chance, wearing purple and gold and standing on the opposite sideline, he indeed took down Saban. Saturday night, in one of those Tiger Stadium moments, . Kelly shook up the College Football Playoff race and rehabbed his image from the man Twitter loves to mock to the man Twitter loves to love after a Ernie Banks Jersey gutsy overtime decision that sparked a field storming and will go down in Death Valley lore.After Alabama scored first in overtime to take a 31-24 lead, LSU answered right back, with quarterback Jayden Daniels scoring on a 25-yard scamper. Daniels had been brilliant in the fourth quarter, bringing LSU from behind with a 75-yard drive that gave the Tigers a 24-21 lead with 1:47 left. Now, Kelly wanted his quarterback to win it or lose it on a two-point conversion. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young wasnt getting a chance to get back on the Tiger Stadium field.MORE: It was a decision at that moment, Kelly said after the game. If you were to have asked me before the game started, Im going to give you one play, and if you are succe sful on that one play, you beat Alabama, I would take that 100 times out of 100. At that moment, it hit me that way.Daniels rolled right and fired a strike to freshman Mason Taylor in the front corner of the end zone, and just like that, LSU had its first home win over Alabama since 2011, Kelly had his first win over Saban, and the Tigers had a clear path to the SEC championship game.NO. 10 LSU WENT FOR TWO AND WON IN THE FINAL SECONDS SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) I knew we had a really good play that we hadnt used, Kelly said. When you get (Daniels) out on the perimeter, you truly have a threat. So I felt really good Javier Baez Jersey about the play.It was a stunning end to a phenomenal battle, where each team was throwing haymakers, only to take one right back. There were eight lead changes in the second half, as Young showed his clutch gene once again with more did-you-see-that? plays that he delivers in big moments.But in the end, LSU had one more play in them, and a coach who believed that play would come out on the Tigers side.MORE: And while Kellys Tigers were pulling off the upset, his old team in South Bend was pulling an upset of its own and doing Kelly and LSU a favor. Notre Dame whipped Mark Grace Jersey No. 4 Clemson 35-14, handing the Tigers their first lo s and making LSUs po sible path to the postseason just a little bit wider.The LSU-Alabama instant cla sic was the kind of game that was expected from the other side of the conference on Saturday. Georgia vs. Tenne see was billed as the latest as the nations top offense (Tenne see) took on one of the nations top defenses (Georgia) to see who was bo s in the Ryne Sandberg Jersey SEC East. Yet it did not work out that way, as Georgia raced out to a big lead and never let the Vols feel they were in the game.The narrative coming out of the first College Football Playoff rankings, as it applied to the Georgia Bulldogs, was that they had very little wiggle room should they fall to Tenne see. And it was legitimate. If the Bulldogs lost Saturday, it would be an uphill climb with three unranked teams remaining on the schedule and virtually no chance to play in the SEC championship game.With that as the backdrop, there was pre sure on the red and black to put together a national championship-level performance.Mi sion accomplished. that felt about three times bigger. The Bulldogs made big plays on offense, defense and special teams. They kept the Tenne see wide receivers, who had run wild all season, under control. They had a 75-yard punt by Brett Thorson that rolled out of bounds at the one-yard line. Quarterback Stetson Bennett connected with three different receivers for gains of at least 37 yards. And all of that was just in the first half.It was a tour de force, and three days from now Georgia will be atop the College Football Playoff rankings.Armed with a 24-6 halftime lead, Kirby Smart took the air out of the ball in the second half and let his running backs, his defense and a heavy rain grind down the clock. Georgia held Tenne see to just 289 total yards, 264 below average. The Vols also scored 36 points below their season average.We played extremely physical, Smart said after the game. Im very proud of how we played.We are now one giant step closer to a Georgia-LSU SEC championship, and Kelly will get to lock horns with another SEC nemesis. Smart swept Kellys Irish in a two-game series in 2017 and 2019 by a total of seven points. Odds are Kellys LSU team is not on Georgias level yet, but the oddsmakers said the same thing about Alabama.One thing is for certain: If that game comes down to one play, Kelly is going to believe his Kerry Wood Jersey team will win it.