In 1996, what would be Gene Stallings’ last year at the helm of the Crimson Tide, Alabama and LSU found themselves on now-familiar ground: sitting atop the leaderboard in the SEC West, both ranked in the Top 11, both sporting ferocious defenses, in a night game in Death Valley setting up the winner for a trip to Atlanta...and LSU getting their souls snatched from their body.
That night, the LSU defense has a very simple game plan: key on the Tide’s star running back Dennis Riddle, and pin their ears back to bring the heat on a notably-immobile Freddie Kitchens.