Well, I think it’s safe to say the Alabama Crimson Tide heard all the noise about its College Football Playoff ranking. They responded by putting on a show against the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

It was a dominant road performance in Death Valley, and it gave the Crimson Tide a statement win. Plenty of people deserve credit, and a couple of areas still need work. Here are the winners and losers for Alabama after its win over LSU.

Winners: Kane Womack and Ryan Grubb

The coordinators have taken a lot of heat, and rightfully so. Against LSU, though, both of them called a phenomenal game.

Defensive coordinator Kane Womack had his unit buzzing. The soft zone still gets picked apart at times, but Alabama bent without breaking. Outside of one trip into the red zone, the Tide’s defense was lights out. It intercepted LSU quarterback Sam Levitt and flew all over the field, bringing pressure out of different blitz packages. Womack deserves a bow for this one.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb deserves the same treatment. The run game wasn’t there, and that is something Alabama has to figure out. Even so, Grubb kept the offense moving. He found ways to get receivers open and to stretch the field horizontally, even though the Crimson Tide couldn’t run the football. That is good play calling.

Winners: Keelon Russell, Cederian Morgan, and the playmakers

Luke Metz: The first player winner is Metz. He picked off a pass right before halftime with LSU in field goal range, and he delivered a huge hit on Leavitt. That third-down play felt like it turned the tide (no pun intended) for Alabama. The defense got a huge fourth-down stop and the Tide took off from there.

Ryan Coleman-Williams: On the ensuing drive, Coleman-Williams ripped off a huge punt return that set up an Alabama touchdown. He also scored a touchdown earlier in the game. It was good to see him back out there.

Keelon Russell: The quarterback was calm, cool, and composed. Russell has built up the kind of callus an inexperienced quarterback never gets without playing at Kentucky, at Tennessee, and against a raucous Georgia Bulldogs defense. He still has to refine his game, but he did a phenomenal job on the road in Death Valley. He did it playing on a bum ankle, and it didn’t matter.

Cederian Morgan: I have been beating the drum for Morgan for a long time. Stay with me here, but I believe he has the potential to be the next Julio Jones at Alabama. I’m that high on him. Against LSU, it was only his second catch of the year, and it went for a touchdown. Grubb dialed up a beautiful switch release concept, Russell made a great throw, and Morgan made a great catch.

Yhonzae Pierre and Devan Thompkins: On the defensive side, the two pass rushers set the tone. Alabama used Pierre a couple of times as a spinner running through the A-gap, but he did his best work off the edge. Thompkins was just as disruptive, finishing with multiple sacks. His one-handed sack essentially won the game, because the Tide got the ball back and closed it out.

View this post on Instagram

Losers: First-half penalties and the run game

There is one obvious loser, and I’ll add a second.

The first-half penalties simply weren’t good enough. Alabama can’t keep committing those holding calls, and Jayvin James can’t keep getting flagged for false starts. Those mistakes stall drives against good teams, and the Tide will face plenty of them.

The run game is the bigger concern. If Alabama wants to compete at the highest level of college football, it has to find a way to run the ball. I understand Racin Delgatty just got back, and I understand the Tide have been banged up, with guys in and out of the lineup. William Sanders didn’t play. Regardless, the ground game has to get better.

For one night, though, none of that took away from what happened in Baton Rouge. This was a huge win for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and a loud answer to everyone questioning where they belong in the playoff picture.