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As the Saturday night in Baton Rouge approaches, the anticipation continues to build for the Alabama-LSU's biggest regular season game since the "Game of the Century" in 2011. But the wait is unique. Alabama enters the game as a 14.5 point favorite, the biggest gap LSU has seen as an underdog at home for the past 20 years.
Outside of Baton Rouge, few people expect the Tigers to fare better than the last seven meetings – all their losses, averaging 9.25 points. And yet, the anticipation remains, because if anyone can match the athletes to this team from Alabama, that is LSU. To go further, if anyone can beat this team from Alabama, LSU at home might just be an opportunity as interesting as the existing one.
That Alabama leaves the Tiger Stadium reaffirmed as the No. 1 of everyone else or that the box is humble and exposed can be summed up in a match above all: the defensive back of LSU against quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his fleet of recipients.
First of all, let's say for the record what we are facing in this Alabama offense. Just choose a stat. Tagovailoa started 25 touchdowns and only 45 defeats, none allowing interception. The tide averages 8.3 yards per game. The top four receivers in Alabama are among the top 26 per meter nationally, averaging 18 to 26 yards for each shot. Tagovailoa has not yet tried to spend the fourth quarter.
Now let's move on to the LSU argument.
Maybe with the exception of Donovan Wilson at Texas A & M, Alabama did not face a single defensive back that would start for LSU. It's hard to argue an argument that many would even consider in Baton Rouge nickel or penny packages. According to S & P +, the best defense Alabama faced was the Arkansas State, ranked 50th in the country. The average rank in the S & P + defense defense for the eight opponents of Alabama is 87.25. LSU ranks third in the same formula.
While Tagovailoa completed 70% of its passes this fall (7th at the national level), LSU kept the opponents QB at only 50% (6th at the national level). While Tagovailoa's TD-INT ratio is an absurd 25: 0, LSU leads the nation in interceptions with 14 and allowed only seven touchdowns. Tagovailoa is about to break the national record of the smugglers' rankings by playing mainly in the first half. LSU's defense allowed the country's lowest number of smugglers in the first half.
But it's not just the numbers. LSU's talent in the high school, led by the future NFL, Greedy Williams and Kristian Fulton, as well as LSU's next great safety at Grant Delpit, allows the Tigers to challenge Alabama's wide receivers for unexpected way.
In the first eight games, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Ole Miss are the only units to have consistently challenged Alabama's wide receivers to the line of scrimmage and none of these programs have athletes that LSU a. Regarding LSU, Alabama should not expect to get the kind of free news releases its recipients enjoy throughout the season. He will have to deal with press coverage, reorientations and a unit that will attempt to dictate the action.
There is some risk-reward to this approach. LSU is 78th in the country in authorized passes of 30 yards or more with 13 points. Alabama is second in the country in assists of 30 yards or more with 27.
As long as LSU will be able to accumulate points against the most vulnerable defense set up by Alabama since 2007, this secondary LSU against Alabama's passing game will make the difference between upset and blowout.
Cover 3
With the initial publication of the ranking of university football matches Tuesday night, four teams ranked in the top 10 pre-season have not landed in the Top 25 and six teams in the top 15 from before -season were absent. Among them, here is who is most likely to be the most disappointed of the course of the season and who should remain positive.
1. Is Time Pressing for Wisconsin? It was supposed to be the year. Ranked # 4 in the pre-season, he was finally getting the respect he deserved as a legitimate playoff contender and one of the heavyweights in college football, building resume, division games to his schedule and a complete offense returning with what is always defense of confidence. But this defense has been mediocre at best. This attack is still looking for additional passes to the running game, and this schedule has proven to be more than Wisconsin could handle. There is no doubt that Wisconsin will continue to be a competitor of the Big Ten West, but with Purdue and Nebraska about to recover, Northwestern is still a thorn in the side and Iowa being Iowa, the road does not become easier and the window becomes smaller.
2. There is no excuse for Auburn. Before the season he was ranked No. 9. But things got worse for the Tigers. Jarrett Stidham is a talented quarterback who made a remarkable comeback in his second year at The Plains. This season wastes a busy defense. Successful recruitment of wide recipients is not successful. Many starters who decide to transfer the mid-season are a disturbing sign. There is simply no way to turn this positively towards the future. With the arrival of Jimbo Fisher in Texas A & M, Auburn may well be back in the middle of the squad of the SEC West, one year after reaching the title of the title. This weekend will be another revealing indicator of the arrival of Aggies in town.
3. There is nothing disturbing in Washington. Pre-season ranked No. 6, the defense has remained strong and one of the country's best this fall. However, the injury virus has reached mass. Yes, the offense has had some problems. The departure of OC Jonathan Smith to the Oregon State was probably a bigger loss than expected. But the talent is still there. The Huskies have emerged as one of the heavyweights of recruitment in the Pac-12. Jacob Eason is waiting behind the scenes and is ready to significantly improve his quarterback position next year. It's a program that stays healthy and stable. Three losses combined 10 points, this is what happens sometimes during a season. Stick to your Huskies stock.
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