Here is what Fox Sports is saying about the game.
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Alabama running back Trent Richardson will be on LSU's mind as the Tigers prepare for the Crimson Tide. (Spruce Derden/US PRESSWIRE)
FS South: Saban, Miles as different as they come
Jones: Alabama's well-rounded nerd No. 1 LSU travels to Tuscaloosa to play No. 2 Alabama in what is being billed as a mini-national championship game. There have been 22 previous regular-season meetings between the Nos. 1 and 2 teams, but only five of those have been conference matchups and none has involved SEC teams. So, this is a little bit of history in the making.
Both squads have been deemed among the most impressive in recent memory, especially because of their taut defenses. Alabama is the Vegas favorite. The winner has the inside track on the BCS championship. Who has the advantage?
LSU PASSING OFFENSE VS. ALABAMA PASS DEFENSE
Rueben Randle is a beast. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound wide receiver leads the SEC with an average of 19.3 yards catch (638 yards on 33 catches) and shares the lead with seven receiving touchdowns. The Tide will have to contend with the ESP-like relationship between Randle and quarterback Jarrett Lee. None of the 'Bama DBs want to get stuck in a one-on-one situation with Randle, although that assignment will likely fall to Lott Trophy finalist Mark Barron. The Tide, however, will throw pipe-bursting pressure at Lee. Dick Butkus Award finalists Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw lead the nation’s top-ranked defense. And, as always, LSU's Jordan Jefferson remains a wild card in spot duty at quarterback.
ADVANTAGE: ALABAMA
LSU RUNNING GAME VS. ALABAMA RUN DEFENSE
The Tigers' offensive line is the healthiest it’s been all year. That’ll make it slightly less difficult for Spencer Ware and Michael Ford, LSU’s 1-2 tandem, to try to get something going against college football’s No. 1 run defense. 'Bama allows less than 50 rushing yards per game. That’s beyond stingy. And the Tide likes to force turnovers, which is one reason it possesses the top-scoring defense (6.9 points allowed) in the country. The trenches won’t be fit for the weary on Saturday.
ADVANTAGE: ALABAMA
ALABAMA RUNNING GAME VS. LSU RUN DEFENSE
No disrespect to quarterback A.J. McCarron, receiver Marquis Maze and the 'Bama passing attack, but Heisman Trophy candidate Trent Richardson is the Tide’s offense, its workhorse and star. The SEC’s leading rusher averages 6.6 yards per carry and only Wisconsin's Montee Ball has more than Richardson's 17 TDs. (Temple’s Bernard Pierce also has 17.) Richardson is how 'Bama will move the ball up the field — if it can.
ADVANTAGE: ALABAMA
ALABAMA PASSING OFFENSE VS. LSU PASS DEFENSE
When these squads meet Saturday, it will have been three weeks since Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu had a chance to “eat.” Honey Badger’s gonna be hungry. Honey Badger’s gonna be looking to take 'Bama’s food after having to sit through the bye week and the Auburn game the previoius week because of a suspension. Beware. But it’s LSU’s depth in the secondary that should be equally frightening. All Mathieu’s replacement, Ron Brooks, did against Auburn was grab a pick-six in Mathieu’s absence. Morris Claiborne, Eric Reed, Craig Loston and the rest of the Tigers backfield, along with sack leaders Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery are going to do their best to shut down McCarron and the Tide’s passing attack.
ADVANTAGE: LSU
ALABAMA SPECIAL TEAMS VS. LSU SPECIAL TEAMS
Both squads have the ability to make game-changing plays. 'Bama’s Maze is always a threat to take it to the house. LSU’s Claiborne returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown against West Virginia. Neither squad has a kicker that can get it out of jams with 50-yard field goals. But LSU's Drew Alleman and the Tide’s Jeremy Shelley and Cade Foster are all accurate from inside the 50. The wild card is a player who can wreak havoc on punt and kick coverage, force fumbles, cause mayhem — Mathieu, who once poached the ball from a punt returner’s helmet carriage and took it the other way for a TD.
ADVANTAGE: LSU
COACHING: ALABAMA'S NICK SABAN VS. LSU'S LES MILES
Miles is the “genius.” An evil “genius.” An unconventional “genius.” So long as you refer to Miles as some sort of “genius,” you’re good. Saban is the stern, dour practitioner. These men have history. Aside from them taking turns ruling the SEC, Miles was said to have won the national championship on the back of players Saban recruited to Baton Rouge. With Urban Meyer gone and Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks still never really proving to be a real threat, Saban and Miles vie yearly for supremacy. LSU-Alabama is as much about the coaches as it is about the squads.
ADVANTAGE: LSU
PREDICTION
LSU has a host of wild cards in Mathieu, Jefferson, Randle and its coach. It is not difficult to envision Saban walking off the field scowling more than he usually does. The Tide, however, is at home. 'Bama features the game’s most reliable offensive weapon (Richardson) and the perhaps the best collegiate defense of the past 10 years. Vegas favors Alabama, and for good reason.
LSU’s reign atop the BCS standings ends this weekend.
ALABAMA 20, LSU 13
Circle H Ranch