SEC game of the week: LSU at Alabama

st dude · 11-02-2009, 04:15 PM

You think?

This was always a bigger game for LSU than Florida. LSU could lose to Florida and still be in the hunt, but not to Bama. LSU is actually one of the few teams, along with Florida, Texas, Alabama and Iowa who probably control their destiny. Should LSU win out and then win the SEC championship game, they will likely make the title game.

Its a long shot, but at least they can say they are still in it going into November. Most teams title shot are long gone.

Alabama is a ten point favorite. I would have thought seven, but LSU has been really bad at times so its hard to argue.

Alabama clearly has the better team to this point, but talent wise LSU matches up very well. Most encouraging for LSU is that they have a defense that gets better each week and they face an inconsisent Alabama offense. Even so, Bama's offense has been more consistent than LSU's offense. Alabama runs the ball much better than LSU and thats important in a game like this.

The quarterback matchup is kind of interesting. McElroy plays like most rookie SEC quarterbacks which is not very well. Jordan Jefferson has had his struggles but is the more talented of the two. McElroy is older and you would think might be the more settled of the two. LSU fans have to worry about a defense like bama's getting Jefferson to make mistakes.

The pressure in the game might be a bit more on Alabama who is supposed to win. Will LSU play a little looser because of that? I do not know but will not be surprised to see LSU take some chances they might not normally do. Ten points sure seems like a lot to me.

Everything points to a low scoring game. That would be good for LSU. They just want to be hanging around in the fourth quarter with a chance to win.

Bama Doug · 11-02-2009, 04:22 PM

Should be a good game.

RollTide!

ThisIsNewOrleans! · 11-02-2009, 05:03 PM

Ill be rocking purple and gold for this one (and yes im a State fan).

ROUSTER · 11-02-2009, 05:47 PM

This is a tough game to call.
I think Bama is the #1 team in the country, based on how they've played. But, inconsistent QB play is finally starting to catch up with them. Their lucky that they have a horse in Ingram that can carry them a long ways. Not to mention probably the best defense in college football.

One thing about Saban is he will rely on that running game in big games. To a fault if Mcelroy struggles early.
In this game, I'd make LSU's O beat me if I were bama. They seem to be getting a little better, but I think JJ is going to have fits with bama's D. Their better than Fla and JJ was so confused at times he didn't know what to do.

LSU seems to be improving, especially on D. Offensively, we need to hit some big plays. Screens and drags seem to usually work good against Saban's aggressive D. And LSU must find a way to move the chains some. To many 3 and outs and bama will simply overwhelm the LSU D eventually. And of course, ball security. bama will make you pay for poor decisions in the passing game. I suspect LSU will take a few more shots down the field in this one, if the OL can give JJ just a little time. One huge key may be JJ's feet. bama is great at blitzing, but if JJ can avoid it there will be alot of green grass in front of him.

Wouldn't suprise me to see a game similar to LSU v Fla. Hopefully, this time LSU will find a way to make a few more plays and give themselves a chance to sneak one out late. I think for LSU to have any chance to win this game, JJ must come up huge.

ThisIsNewOrleans! · 11-02-2009, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROUSTER

This is a tough game to call.
I think Bama is the #1 team in the country, based on how they've played. But, inconsistent QB play is finally starting to catch up with them. Their lucky that they have a horse in Ingram that can carry them a long ways. Not to mention probably the best defense in college football.

One thing about Saban is he will rely on that running game in big games. To a fault if Mcelroy struggles early.
In this game, I'd make LSU's O beat me if I were bama. They seem to be getting a little better, but I think JJ is going to have fits with bama's D. Their better than Fla and JJ was so confused at times he didn't know what to do.

LSU seems to be improving, especially on D. Offensively, we need to hit some big plays. Screens and drags seem to usually work good against Saban's aggressive D. And LSU must find a way to move the chains some. To many 3 and outs and bama will simply overwhelm the LSU D eventually. And of course, ball security. bama will make you pay for poor decisions in the passing game. I suspect LSU will take a few more shots down the field in this one, if the OL can give JJ just a little time. One huge key may be JJ's feet. bama is great at blitzing, but if JJ can avoid it there will be alot of green grass in front of him.

Wouldn't suprise me to see a game similar to LSU v Fla. Hopefully, this time LSU will find a way to make a few more plays and give themselves a chance to sneak one out late. I think for LSU to have any chance to win this game, JJ must come up huge.

Good breakdown but i cant agree with Bama being number 1 in the country or having a better D than Florida.. Texas' offense is better than Bama's but not their D.. Florida is truly the number 1 team in the country.. They made a statement against UGA.. Also, here's a funny little fact i thought of today...

Ingram is the frontrunner in the Heisman race...

Mark Ingram - 1,004 yds and 8 TD's
Anthony Dixon - 1,001 yds and 9 TD's

gboudx · 11-02-2009, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThisIsNewOrleans!

Ingram is the frontrunner in the Heisman race...

Mark Ingram - 1,004 yds and 8 TD's
Anthony Dixon - 1,001 yds and 9 TD's

#6 and 7 in the list of leading rushers so far. Bama's played 8 games to Moo St's 9.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/.../2009/group/80

ThisIsNewOrleans! · 11-02-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gboudx

#6 and 7 in the list of leading rushers so far. Bama's played 8 games to Moo St's 9.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/.../2009/group/80

True but Dixon sat out against Jackson St.. Imagine how many yards he woulda put up against that D.

Saintman2884 · 11-03-2009, 02:04 AM

There's one thing about LSU that's interesting to point out: Les Miles has a way of playing slightly above average football to keep himself within the margins, keep playing with the other team but at the end of the 3rd quarter, he turns up the heat and opens the playbook and catches other teams completely off-guard. LSU, I've noticed, is very good at winning games by just wearing out the defense.

If this game is close going late in the 3rd quarter, depending upon on how or if the Tide's tempo is steady or not, LSU will have Alabama and Nick Saban right where they want them. Yes Alabama has a top rated defense, but even great defenses can be worn out especially if Bama has a terrible red zone offense. It almost caught on with them vs. Tennessee a week ago, and since LSU has a better offense and a HC willing to take huge risks occasionally, LSU might pull off the upset.

Two things will be key for both teams in this game: Scoring TD's in the red zone instead of settling for FG's AND how the tempo of the game is dictated early on by either Miles and Saban.

Alabama can't settle for FG's this week and expect there D to bail them out again. LSU is good in winning close games and can lock down on a freshman QB trying to force a ball which ends up getting picked or fumbling it away after being blindsided. A big game like this usually can be decided on 1 or 2 key plays that can happen at any possible moment.

Treybad · 11-03-2009, 05:14 AM

Hope I am wrong, but Jefferson has not shown me any signs that he will play better than he did against Florida..... and that means LSU will not be winning against Bama's defense..... that and the play calling for LSU is by far the worst I have seen in a long time.... I know Bama has been struggling on offense as well but being at home and their defense should be enough to win, with a Jefferson like performance from the Florida Game.....

st dude · 11-03-2009, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThisIsNewOrleans!

Ingram is the frontrunner in the Heisman race...

Mark Ingram - 1,004 yds and 8 TD's
Anthony Dixon - 1,001 yds and 9 TD's

Okay, aside from the fact that Ingram plays for a national championship contending team, if you took the time to look up the stats you know you left out a very important one when comparing backs.

Ingram has more yards an 30 less carries and averages a whole yard more per carry. Pretty significant when comparing the two, no?

Dixon is a fine back and the workhorse for State. Ingram is making bigger plays and thats why he is in the Heisman talk more.

As an interesting aside, did you know the University of Alabama has never had a heisman trophy winner? I am certainly not lobbying for Ingram to be one, just poitning out that he is an emerging candidate. His fortunes will depend somewhat on Saturday's game. If Bama wins and goes to the SEC championship game, thats another big game in the limelight for him. If they lose, his chances drop. Its just the way it is. Dixon might be a candidate if he were playing more on national TV for a contender.

ROUSTER · 11-03-2009, 09:06 AM

Trey, I don't think it's all playcalling. Players make playcalling, good or bad. The big struggle that LSU's O has this year is that the OL is simply mediocre at best. They can't establish the run and they don't give the QB enough time usually. That's a bad recipe against bama or most good teams.
LSU will have to find a way to run the football, some, in the game if they have any chance at winning. If the run gets totally stonewalled and JJ is forced to beat bama with his arm, we're probably in big trouble.

Defensively, LSU will need a few timely stops and timely to's. One huge key in this game may end up being Aerenas and Holiday. Field position will have alot to do with the winner and special teams usually plays a huge part in that.
Against Fla. LSU seemed to be behind the 8-ball all night because of poor field position. The D will really need to get a few stops with bama backed up. By the same token, LSU needs to find ways to move the chains enough to force bama to make LONG drives.

NPs6724 · 11-03-2009, 12:25 PM

Last year, LSU took Bama to OT with a worse QB who also threw a Pick-6 in the game. And Bama hasn't been playing great ball the past couple weeks. If LSU plays at the same level they did against AU, they have a real shot at winning this game.

st dude · 11-03-2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NPs6724

Last year, LSU took Bama to OT with a worse QB who also threw a Pick-6 in the game. And Bama hasn't been playing great ball the past couple weeks. If LSU plays at the same level they did against AU, they have a real shot at winning this game.

I do not think anyone who knows football would argue with this. The reason Alabama is favored is because they have been the more consistent team this year and they are at home.

LSU's offense has shown signd of life in the first half against Georgia and in the whole game against Auburn. The one defense LSU faced comparable to Bama's defense was Florida and they embarrassed LSU. Hence the ten point spread in favor of Bama.

Alabama will face a better coached defense this year than they did last year. I call the defenses about even, maybe a slight edge to Bama as they have played well all year, LSU moreso as of late. The biggest edge in the game goes to Bama's running game over LSU.

ROUSTER · 11-03-2009, 12:51 PM

We had a better running game last year and as St.Dude pointed out, we were at Home.
Our lack of running game is what scares me the most, because if we can't run it will force JJ into situations that he still isn't comfortable doing.
That's why Fla. had success against us. It's all about down and distance.

bama will move the ball. we just have to keep them to 3's and not 7's. Bigger than anything will be to's. Especially for LSU. If we can find a way to win the turnover battle and grind out the ball on the ground SOME, we'll have a good chance at the upset.

St.Ryan · 11-03-2009, 02:31 PM

Last year wasn't just a home game. It was Saban's return.

Put Peterson on Jones and put 10 in the box.

Treybad · 11-03-2009, 02:37 PM

I dont think we have a better QB than last year, pretty much the same in my opinion.... Lee tried to make the big plays and gave up the pick 6's..... Jefferson is not trying to make the tough throws.... loosing 13-3 is the same as loosing 23-3..... rather at least try and make the big plays..... and the play calling is a mess.... not to mention the rotation of RBs and QBs.....

NPs6724 · 11-03-2009, 02:50 PM

JJ is a much better QB now than Lee was last year. Our run game and OL, though, are worse.

ROUSTER · 11-03-2009, 03:49 PM

Without a doubt, our OL scares the heck out of me in this one. This OL has struggled pretty much all year long.
I won't be shocked to see Crowton spread the field alot to keep bama from loading the box.

stevedrum · 11-03-2009, 11:21 PM

If Bama plays Offense like they have the last few games it could be bad. I know they will have had two weeks to prepare but I'm not sure if that's enough to fix their passing game. Bama can run the football with the best of them but they will need to be able to pass to win imo. Even if Bama some how wins I seriously doubt they will cover the ten points.

Crzycjunx76 · 11-04-2009, 01:52 AM

JJ is less likely to give up a turnover but is more likely to go three an out. Lee was the better down field passer and recognized down field routes well... however when they were covered he had no idea how to choose his target in the short game. JJ has a hard time with his timing on down field routes and holding on to the ball too long or checking down to short or no gain routes when their ARE open WRs available.

JJ has stalled many drives this year and our running game and offense as a whole would benefit from him getting opposing defenses away from stacking the box, but as bad as it may be turnovers and giving our opponents extra possessions with a short field are far worse.

gboudx · 11-06-2009, 11:24 AM

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/featu...tures%2frumors

Quote:

Tigers' new weapon versus Alabama.

NPs6724 · 11-06-2009, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gboudx

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/featu...tures%2frumors

Anybody got Insider and can elaborate?

Saintlady · 11-07-2009, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevedrum

If Bama plays Offense like they have the last few games it could be bad. I know they will have had two weeks to prepare but I'm not sure if that's enough to fix their passing game. Bama can run the football with the best of them but they will need to be able to pass to win imo. Even if Bama some how wins I seriously doubt they will cover the ten points.

I dunno Steve. I'm hoping LSU pulls off a win, but this game has me a bit concerned. I'm not surprised about the 10 points. This is the game I've been anxious to see, it's going to be big. BTW, where are my tickets?!?

stevedrum · 11-07-2009, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saintlady

I dunno Steve. I'm hoping LSU pulls off a win, but this game has me a bit concerned. I'm not surprised about the 10 points. This is the game I've been anxious to see, it's going to be big. BTW, where are my tickets?!?

My nephew and my brother have 'em darn them. lol