What to look for on offense:
* LSU must be able to run the ball. Under Les, the Tigers are 87-9 when they rush for 100 yards or more.
* The offense must click early. Les Miles is 64-6 at LSU when leading after the first quarter.
* Z Mett must protect the ball. He has thrown 5 INT’s in last two games. LSU can’t win if they turn the ball over.
* Last year Les called a few plays that cost the Tigers. He needs to get a better feel of the flow of this game to decide when and if to gamble.
What to look for on defense:
* When LSU blitzes, they have to get to McCarron. LSU is going to need big negative plays to stop Alabama. They won’t be able to just go toe to toe and stop Bama’s offensive drives.
* The secondary is going to have to come up with at least 2 turnovers. If these blitzes do indeed bring pressure, the secondary is going to have to CATCH THE BALL when the opportunity presents itself.
* Get off the field on 3rd down. Given what we have seen this year, I would be in favor of more risk taking by Chavis and crew on 3rd downs. We are not strong enough or experienced enough to play straight up; we need to take some chances.
What to expect from Alabama:
* Ground and pound and occasionally go up top. Alabama is averaging 39 rushes and 29 passes per game in their 5 SEC games. The Crimson Tide lead the league in yards per play with 7.79.
* On defense, Alabama has been suffocating giving up only 11.8 points a game in 5 SEC contests. Take out the A&M game and it goes down to 4.25 points per game.
* I would add this little caveat though, Alabama was shredded by Manziel. The other 4 SEC games were against Ole Miss, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. They are ranked 47, 87, 92 and 108 respectively in scoring offense. They failed utterly against the one true potent offense they faced.
What will happen:
This series has been dominated by the road team going back to 1982. Since that break through victory over Bear Bryant in Alabama by Jerry Stovall’s Tigers, the road team has an amazing 22-8-1 record. LSU is 9-5 versus Alabama since 2000 (Miles is 5-4 versus Bama).
This game will play out like most of the games in the series, a tight contest marked by one team making plays in the fourth quarter to “secure victory.” LSU will play well, but this is the #1 team in country with the #1 coach on the sidelines.
LSU 24 – Alabama 34
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