Everything at Stake

Everything says Alabama should win this game. The eyeball test, Vegas experts, the computers and all the stats known to man regarding college football point to an Alabama victory. The biggest question for the talking heads in the media is who would give Alabama the best game when they get to the National Championship. When not if.

And to a certain extent I’m buying in. I’ve seen LSU play eight games now. I’ve dropped more F-bombs on the Tigers than I can recall over the past two months. At times LSU can’t get out of its own way. The “Bad Miles” game management skills (or lack there of) have been on display this season.

But something tells me the “Hat” will have an answer this Saturday. Something tells me LSU will respond with a “damn strong” performance in the biggest game of the year.

There are a few things I don’t have to speculate on though:

* Tiger Stadium will be rocking, and no player for Alabama will have experienced that degree of fan intensity. Certainly McCarron will not have faced anything like Tiger Stadium for a full 3+ hours.

* LSU has played much better at home than on the road. Plus LSU has had two weeks to prepare.

* Alabama will not be able to run on LSU. The Tide only had 96 yards rushing in Tuscaloosa last season with Trent Richardson, and he is gone. I like LSU’s chances to hit McCarron and make him uncomfortable.

* LSU’s defense is national championship caliber. Alabama will not be moving the ball up and down the field on the Tigers.

This is a really tough game to pick. LSU must convert a few third downs and cannot turn the ball over. If both teams play to form, Alabama wins. But that’s not what is going to happen. The Tide will make a few uncharacteristic mistakes while the Tigers will minimize their own missteps. It will be tight match all the way through.  But LSU will get back into the National Title hunt and get a level of revenge for that beating at Alabama's hands so many months ago.

LSU 16 – Alabama 14