TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama needed five yards to put away Texas A&M. Daniel Hill got four on second down and two on third, allowing Keelon Russell to take a pair of knees and finish off a 31-20 win.

When offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb looked back on that game Monday, he pointed to the way Alabama ran the ball on its final possession. The Crimson Tide took over at its own 26 with 3:42 left. Russell found Lotzeir Brooks for 25 yards on third-and-2 to get Alabama across midfield, then handed the ball to Hill on four straight plays.

Hill picked up 13 yards on the first carry and five on the next to set up second-and-5 at the Aggies’ 23. He finished the drive with 26 yards on five carries, and Texas A&M never got the ball back.

Finding that kind of success on Saturday in Baton Rouge will be a tougher task. No. 15 LSU leads the SEC in rushing defense, holding opponents to 85.4 yards per game and 2.69 yards per carry through eight games. No. 9 Alabama enters the matchup ranked 12th in the conference in rushing at 151.9 yards per game.

“You gotta run disciplined, and you gotta run physical,” Grubb said. “What I mean by that is don’t pass on the four-yard run. Against a defense like this, if there’s a crack there we’ve got to take it.”

Hill and Trae’shawn Brown have split much of the work for Alabama this season. Hill leads the Tide with 332 yards on 71 carries, while Brown is eight yards behind him on seven fewer attempts. Russell has added 251 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

The quarterback accounted for much of Alabama’s rushing production the last time the Tide visited Tiger Stadium. In 2024, Jalen Milroe ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-13 win over LSU. He scored from 39 yards out on Alabama’s opening possession and broke off a 72-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. All six of Alabama’s touchdowns came on the ground.

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer brought up that trip Monday when asked about the importance of running the ball at LSU. Two years ago, the Tide had already lost at Tennessee before going to Baton Rouge. DeBoer credited that group with learning from its struggles in Knoxville. This year’s team has a similar experience to lean on after scoring just 10 points against the Volunteers last month.

DeBoer also pointed to what sustaining drives would do for Alabama’s defense. LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 388 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-17 win over Auburn. A few more possessions like the one Hill helped close out against Texas A&M would give Leavitt fewer chances to do the same Saturday.

“For us it’s going to be staying disciplined with the read and keeping the ball moving forward and being patient for the big one,” Grubb said.