Dominate the Super Bowl

The air, ablaze; the heatwave, surging.

Tiger Stadium was showcasing its devil's home field power to the visiting Crimson Tide Storm, not only with unique and varied rallying cries for each and every offensive and defensive play but also with a jam-packed stadium of a hundred thousand seats, all taken, reflecting a splendid peacock blue in the sky with its overwhelming sea of purple.

The roar, the surge, clawed violently at the Crimson Tide Storm, descending upon them without mercy. Clearly, the Tigers' fans particularly reveled in moments like these—

Alabama Crimson Tide Storm and the Louisiana State University Tigers were mortal enemies, the kind that could not coexist under the same sky.

Since 1960, the two teams have met annually, gradually turning the event into an annual extravaganza. The Louisiana State University Tigers once maintained a fifteen-game home-winning streak at Tiger Stadium against the Crimson Tide Storm, a record that is one of the NCAA's most astonishing and difficult to surpass.

Tigers' fans took pride in it, and even now, they would bring it up frequently to mock the Crimson Tide Storm.

However, as a traditional powerhouse, the Crimson Tide Storm still held a lead in the overall record—fifty-five wins, twenty-seven losses, and five ties—and maintained an absolute advantage in key matches such as the Conference Championship and nationwide Championships, always blocking the Tigers' path to championship glory.

Among a series of fierce rivalries, Crimson Tide Storm had a longer and more entangled history, and deeper roots with Auburn University and the University of Tennessee; but, in 2007, the shift happened when Nick Saban, the acclaimed coach from Louisiana State University, joined the rival Crimson Tide Storm.

Since then, each encounter between Alabama and Louisiana State University has been explosive and has grown increasingly heated as Saban led the Crimson Tide Storm to defeat the Tigers repeatedly, peaking after the 2012 Conference Championship victory over the Tigers to claim the title.

Now, "Crimson Tide Storm vs. Tigers" has evolved into a fierce, die-hard duel in the Southeastern Conference of the NCAA.

Today was no exception.

Top to bottom, the Louisiana State University Tigers were as if injected with chicken blood, displaying 120% of their capability, and have brutally oppressed their opponents since the kickoff.

The hundred thousand fans at Tiger Stadium also refused to be outdone, summoning the Crimson Tide Storm's painful memories of the fifteen straight losses they suffered on this field.

"Tigers, charge (Tiger-Bait)"

"Tigers, charge!"

The chanting, relentless and omnipresent, transitioned from offense to defense, from defense back to offense. Throughout nearly two hours, the home fans' energy was incredibly explosive, ruthlessly overwhelming the visiting team.

The heat, wildly dancing upon the eardrums, skin nearly melting.

Clearly, in such a predicament, this game environment did nothing to aid the Crimson Tide Storm; it only trapped them in irritation and oppression.

To remain calm, to stay rational, became exponentially difficult.

Hertz was panicking, unable to hide it—pale as death, pupils shaking, at a loss with his limbs, even forgetting the right way to breathe.

Li Wei noticed it, and after setting himself up, he patted Hertz on the shoulder before heading to his own position—the rookie freshman was still too green.

"We can do it," Li Wei said.

Hertz was unsure.

Li Wei repeated, "We can do it."

Hertz looked into Li Wei's eyes. The incessant noise was distracting, yet the calmness and composure in those eyes anchored the drifting chaos of his thoughts, pulling them back down. Feeling the solid ground beneath his feet, he involuntarily nodded in agreement.

Then, Li Wei turned to his own spot—

The standard pistol formation.

He took a deep breath, ready to go.

From the start of the game, it wasn't that Li Wei was just running into wall after wall in an endless cycle, like a hamster spinning in place—far from it.

He was observing, he was scrutinizing.

Actually, Saban had realized that the Tigers were specifically targeting Li Wei, so he tried to change the pace using Jacobs, Clark, and even Emmons; but it must be said, the ground defense of the Tigers was truly tough, and the most effective advancement was still coming from Li Wei.

Don't think that Li Wei was just hitting a wall, if it were any other player, they would have collapsed by now. However, Li Wei hadn't. His push forward was still the only hope in the Crimson Tide Storm's predicament, and the calmness and fighting spirit he displayed in the face of adversity and setbacks made Saban choose him to continue bearing the burden of the ground offense.

Li Wei noticed a detail.

When Jacobs or Clark came on the field, the step-up of the two linemen, Riley and Beckwith, was noticeably slower. They were willing to leave some space, letting Jacobs and Clark start up; at the same time, they devoted more energy to helping defend against the pass.

But when Li Wei was on the field, Riley and Beckwith's strategy was simple and clear, stepping up immediately to try to compress Li Wei's starting space as much as possible, attempting to tackle him before he could pick up speed; at the same time, Safety Adams also stepped up, filling the void left by the linemen.

Again, the word—

The Tigers would rather the Crimson Tide Storm open up the game with a passing attack than let their ground offense get into rhythm, even at the cost sacrificing defensive players to pile up a human wall on ground defense.

Determined and ruthless enough.

This was something the Crimson Tide Storm had not encountered in previous games.

Originally, the passing offense of the Crimson Tide Storm was not very rich, consisting of just a few plays, and now, with the ground offense being restricted, it was even more difficult.

Football is like a chain, with each link connected to the next, and a problem in one area often leads to trouble throughout.

Saban was adjusting and trying as well, but in the end, Li Wei still needed to break through head-on— Explore stories at empire

The offense of the Crimson Tide Storm couldn't do without the ground offense.

So, they could no longer wait and no longer avoid, they needed to reverse the situation through direct confrontation.

Li Wei was ready.

Third and six.

This was the predicament that the Crimson Tide Storm had found itself in time and again, repeatedly facing third and long, and if the pass failed, it was time for a fourth down punt.

The offense was completely unable to unravel the situation.

There were no exceptions this time either.

Slowly, Li Wei bent down, placed his hands on his knees, and stood behind Hertz, bringing the defensive groups' positions on both sides into his field of vision.

The Tigers, responding to unchanging circumstances, had not changed their entire defensive formation much.

Li Wei couldn't see Beckwith's face but could see Riley.

Generally speaking, the position of the linebackers would overlap with the defensive line, clear to the quarterback, but obscured to the running back due to their position.

However, Riley was different, deliberately standing out and not caring about the other players, fixating his gaze on Li Wei, a hunter clearly targeting his prey.

Riley, a lineman with the strength of a third-round pick, though not a genius, if his only task was one thing and he could get the support of two or even three teammates as a backup, then the confrontation would turn into a cat and mouse game, and he was absolutely confident.

Looking at Li Wei, Riley's eyes were like Tom's, eyeing Li Wei the Jerry, revealing a cruel smile, eagerly ready to step forward.

He had already made Li Wei hit the wall more than once, and this time would be no different, so the Crimson Tide Storm had better come up with some new tactics, like a fake run and real pass, otherwise, he would not be polite.

"Attack!"

The sound of Hertz starting the play filled the air, and Li Wei took off.