Game preview: LSU at Alabama
It does not get any bigger than this. The No. 2 LSU Tigers visit the No.4 Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant Denny Stadium, with the winner in great position to make the College Football Playoff, and the loser almost certain to watch from the couch.
LSU comes into the contest 7-0 and riding a wave of momentum behind sophomore sensation, running back Leonard Fournette. Fournette is the leader in the clubhouse for the Heisman Trophy, rushing for 1,252 yards on 7.7 yards per carry and 15 touchdowns. He has been nothing short of unstoppable, allowing quarterback Brandon Harris to manage the game. Harris is yet to throw an interception while completing 58.6 percent of his throws.
Alabama is 7-1 and a half-game behind LSU in the SEC West. The Crimson Tide lost to the Ole Miss Rebels back on Sept. 19, 43-37. It was a loss that sent the Alabama faithful into a tizzy, but times have changed. Quarterback Jake Coker has begun to play much better, throwing for 1,623 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. However, Coker has been on fire over the past three games, completing more than 74 percent of his throws.
When these two teams meet, it is always a chess match mixed with an old-fashioned backyard brawl. On one side is Alabama head coach Nick Saban, the former LSU coach who won a national title with the school in 2003 before going to Alabama and winning three more in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
The other side gives us head coach Les Miles, known as the most daring coach in the game. Miles has proven his worth and then some, winning a national title of his own at LSU in 2007. The Tigers have been a powerhouse under Miles since he arrived in 2005, and the games between Saban and Miles have been fiercely fought over the past decade.
The contest have been rife with national championship applications throughout the years. Since 2005, the winner has been ranked as a top-five team every year except 2006. Four times, the winner has gone on to hoist the crystal football. Of the 11 games between Miles and Saban, four have gone to overtime with those decisions being split two apiece. The schools have played five times at Tuscaloosa, Ala., since 2005, and LSU has won three of the contests.
Ultimately, this is the best game of the college football season. LSU and Alabama play a throwback style, something that is infinitely more entertaining than Baylor and TCU playing a 62-59 game. The Crimson Tide will dig its heels in against Fournette, with the Tigers hoping to blow open enough holes to escape with a win.
Perhaps the matchup of the night will be Fournette and Alabama inside linebacker Reggie Ragland. When those meet, the sound will be heard throughout the capacity crowd.
Buckle up, the college football landscape is about to shift.
