BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Jalen Milroe highlighted a career-high 185 rushing yards with four scoring runs, and No. 11 Alabama defeated 14th-ranked LSU 42-13 on Saturday night.

Milroe’s fourth touchdown was also his longest run, a 72 yard run that gave the Crimson Tide (7-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) a 29-point lead early in the fourth quarter of a game critical to both teams’ College Football Playoff hopes.

While Alabama’s victory keeps the Crimson Tide firmly in contention, the Tigers (6-3, 3-2) virtually fell out of the race with not only their third loss this season, but their second in a row by 15 or more points .

Milroe’s other three scoring runs were of 39, 10 and 19 yards. His running performance eclipsed his previous single-game best of 155 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in a 42-28 win over LSU a year ago in Tuscaloosa.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was plagued by turnovers for the second straight game. His fumble in the first half led to Milroe’s second touchdown.

Nussmeier was intercepted at the Alabama goal line by Deontae Lawson early in the third quarter, when the Tigers had a chance to cut the Crimson Tide’s lead to one score. LSU’s embattled quarterback was also intercepted in the fourth quarter, his sixth turnover in his last two games.

Milroe threw for 109 yards and did not turn the ball over.

Justice Hayes and Richard Young also ran for Alabama TDs: Hayes from 1 yard out in the first half and Young from 8 yards out in the fourth quarter.

Shortly before kickoff, in a move that delighted some fans but sparked protests from animal rights activists, LSU parades caged Bengal tiger on field at the behest of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.

LSU had stopped the practice with the tiger that lives in a 15,000-square-foot habitat on campus in 2015, so Landry sent another tiger from Florida.

Alabama was seemingly unfazed, taking a 7-0 lead on the game’s first drive when Milroe ran for his 39-yard touchdown.

After Milroe’s second touchdown made the score 21-6 late in the second quarter, LSU attempted to produce points before halftime but stalled at midfield and trotted to the locker room to a cascade of boos. From there things only got worse for the home team.

Alabama: The Tide’s dominance sent fans heading for the exits before the end of the third quarter, when the score was 28-6. Alabama outgained LSU 420 yards to 343 and possessed the ball for 33:55.

LSU: Between Nussmeier’s recent streak of turnovers and the defense’s difficulty stopping rushing quarterbacks, LSU’s season has fallen apart since the second half of a 38-23 loss at Texas A&M in the team’s previous game.

Alabama hosts Mercer next Saturday.

LSU plays at Florida next Saturday.

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