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Lawrence’s vision went black, an overwhelming force nearly shattered his organs, and his body was flipped over onto the ground like a bag of rice.
He thought he had tackled No. 23 accurately, but No. 23 had been ready, seizing the moment Lawrence was distracted to knock him over with a robust and decisive frontal collision, his robust and hefty body flipping over head first, cutting off all sounds at the throat.
A backward fall.
In front of him, a chaos of footsteps filled his vision, and amidst the dizziness, he only saw a flash of red cutting a bloody path through the turmoil.
Then—
"Roar, Crimson Tide!"
"Roar, Crimson Tide!"
Bryant Denny Stadium erupted with incredible energy.
Lawrence clenched his fists: a fake run for a real pass! Damn it!
Now, Lawrence finally realized this was a tactic of faking a run for a real pass; No. 23 completely drew their attention, causing a gap in the defense as the quarterback of Crimson Tide Storm quickly executed a short pass, not just gaining the first down but also vigorously advancing fifteen yards.
The field goal range was within reach.
The Tigers Defense Squad united their will, trying to strike out the Crimson Tide Storm, but didn’t expect to be immediately met with severe rebuke as soon as they entered the game, the situation looking grim.
Lawrence stood up, looking towards Watkins and Wilkins; their faces were already dark, indistinguishable, but the exchange of looks made it clear, they were too focused on No. 23’s ground advancing ability, causing them to lose focus elsewhere, resulting in significant defensive gaps.
The situation was grim.
If they couldn’t stop the Crimson Tide Storm here, once within the field goal range, the control over the game’s outcome would fall into the hands of the Crimson Tide Storm.
Damn it!
Below the field, Watson could no longer sit still, standing straight at the sideline, his expression alternating between clouds and sunshine, unable to suppress the overwhelming irritability and anger—
If it weren’t for that interception just now...
The defensive group had regained their focus, not making the same mistake twice.
So, what strategy would the Crimson Tide Storm deploy next in the offense, and how were the Tigers Defense Squad preparing to intercept the opponents near the midfield?
"Attack!"
Beteman commanded without moving his feet, grabbing the Football and standing in place, stepping aside to leave room for Li Wei to approach.
Then, Li Wei took the Football from Beteman, but didn’t change his running direction, instead plunging headlong into the surging offensive line—
Through the center!
Even though there was no running play or advancement, number twenty-three’s decoy action and disruption created space, laying the foundation for the Crimson Tide Storm’s short pass connections—
Sweeney was somewhat annoyed.
At that moment, he finally realized he had acted too hastily, his impatience exposing his tactical intentions which not only gave Saban an edge but also misjudged number twenty-three’s role twice in succession. Beyond ground advances, number twenty-three’s targeted patching against the defense was undoubtedly crucial.
So, what to do next?
Taking a deep breath, Sweeney calmed down; even if they entered the field goal area, it didn’t matter. It’s fine to lose the field goal; as long as the Tigers could quickly strike out the Crimson Tide Storm, Watson could still come back and kill the game.
Sweeney glanced at the game time, one minute fifteen seconds.
Alright, the time might not be enough for Watson to kill the game, but it didn’t matter; a tie going into the overtime was just as good, as the game held many possibilities.
The urgent need was to stop the Crimson Tide Storm; they couldn’t allow a touchdown.
With this shift in thoughts, Sweeney immediately started arranging the tactics—
The focus changed.
Sweeney no longer pursued completely stopping the Crimson Tide Storm but preventing them from scoring a touchdown; so they only needed to cut off long passes and intensively defend the short pass area.
Even if the pass was connected, they could intercept the receiver immediately and also consume game time.
That would be enough.
Sweeney incorporated time management into his considerations, as ground attacks consumed a lot of time. In a time-critical situation, passing was the only option. After he changed the tactical objective, the entire defensive strategy soon became efficient, and the pressure exerted by the three Black-faced Yamas in the short pass area also took effect.
As expected.
The Crimson Tide Storm chose to pass twice in a row, trying to control the time, but after wasting two timeouts, they advanced a total of five yards.
After a new first down, they faced a second down and eight yards situation, and their advance was trapped at the twenty-six-yard line; the closer to the red zone, the more difficult it became.
Game time, only fifty-five seconds left, Crimson Tide Storm had only one timeout left.
The situation was a bit awkward.
If the Crimson Tide Storm couldn’t get a new first down, they would have to choose a field goal, then leaving about forty seconds for Watson to re-enter the game—
As long as Watson entered, then everything was possible.
This time the second down and eight yards, even to third down, the offensive strategy suddenly became tricky, especially since Beteman’s last two passing plays hadn’t gone well, and the ground attack was not conducive to time management, even potentially disastrous.
What to do?
In an emergency, Saban didn’t hesitate; he had already finished setting up the strategy, and the Crimson Tide Storm offensive group quickly lined up, ready in no time.
"Attack!"
Beteman’s voice tore through the sky.