Kane Wommack laughed in the face of the heat.

Humidity too. That much became clear during his first tour of fall camp as Alabama football’s defensive coordinator, wear a sweatshirt for hot August workouts. Wommack also maintained a similar outfit throughout the games. There are always two layers, and all with long sleeves.

That didn’t change in Baton Rouge on Saturday; He was wearing a black sweatshirt under a black vest with long black pants. Mind you, it was 76 degrees with 86% humidity at Tiger Stadium for the kickoff of a night game.

As uncomfortable and hot as this outfit may seem, despite the weather, consider it appropriate for Wommack to wear it. This season, he has shown heat, pressure and challenges do not scare him.

This proved true again on Saturday. With Alabama needing a road victory to stay alive in the College Football Playoff race, Wommack’s defense held the Tigers without a touchdown until the final minute of the game. Consequently, No. 11 Alabama football dominated No. 15 LSU 42-13 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“I like where our defense is right now,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We might give up a play here or there, but they move on to the next one, go out and execute and they take that mindset that one yard is too many.”

That seemed far from the case more than a month ago when the Crimson Tide nearly choked against Georgia. The following week, Alabama then gave up 40 points to Vanderbilt in a loss.

The “Swarm D” brought in by Wommack to keep up with Nick Saban’s defense didn’t seem to be working.

Fast forward a month, and not only does it work, it dominates. Over the final eight quarters against two ranked teams in No. 24 Missouri and No. 15 LSU, Alabama has allowed just one touchdown: the garbage time score in Baton Rouge.

And that limits an LSU offense that ranked 21st in total offense (448 yards per game) and 34th in offense (32.8 points per game) in the country before the Alabama game. The Tigers finished with 343 yards and 13 points.

LSU held a few drives, but the Crimson Tide came up short in crucial moments. See Jihaad Campbell’s pass breakup at the goal line in the first quarter to force a field goal. There’s also Deontae Lawson’s interception in the end zone to allow LSU to end a 14-play, 71-yard drive with zero points. Twice, the Tigers had the ball inside the Alabama 5-yard line; LSU only scored three total points on those opportunities.

“A lot of people doubt this defense, but we knew what we were capable of,” Lawson said. “We put in the work. We prepared in the right way. This was seen on the pitch today.

In addition to Lawson’s interception, safety Bray Hubbard had his own. Additionally, Campbell gave Alabama its first turnover of the day when he sacked LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and forced the fumble.

“We had to keep mixing up what they were seeing,” DeBoer said. “He’s a great quarterback and can predetermine where the ball is going a little bit. And I thought over the course of the week you could see the wrinkles that we keep adding, a play. Be really efficient.

The win over LSU marks the fourth straight game with at least three takeaways for Alabama’s defense. The Crimson Tide has only had one game with three or more through the first five games of the season.

Wommack’s “Swarm D” requires takeout. Now Alabama is getting them at a high rate.

“There’s definitely going to be a learning curve in some of the things as guys understand our system on a more dynamic level and recognize when to take risks and when not to take risks,” Wommack said Monday before LSU. “That’s a big part of the problem. There are guys who have experience, and maybe they have experience in different systems, and there are guys who have little experience, and they start to grow and learn. So I like where we’re going.

Patience for this new defense, and all the new plays, might have been what was needed to get to this point. Tolerate some pitfalls, especially with a young secondary, and move forward.

Wommack did, and he got his defense into shape at the perfect time. Not only is the College Football Playoff realistic, but Alabama also looks like a team that could do some damage in the postseason.

The emergence of the Crimson Tide defense is one of the main reasons for this.