Sports world gets national championship game 2 months early

Very rarely do sports fans get what they want, the true dream matchup.

LeBron James has never faced Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals and likely never will.

A Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao card is a dream, but will likely never happen because of ego and superstition.

Likewise, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson haven’t yet gone toe-to-toe at Augusta on the back 9 with the Green Jacket hanging in the balance.

Saturday night when the clock strikes 7 p.m., we will finally get what we want.

The irresistible force will meet the immovable object, our dream matchup is here.

No. 1 LSU will take on No. 2 Alabama.

The two current Herculean forces of college football will collide.

We will watch in awe at what will (hopefully) be a drama-filled game.

How do you differentiate between LSU and Alabama?

To give one team the advantage over another isn’t even splitting hairs, it’s like splitting granules of dust.

The Tigers are a mean machine that has blistered four-straight Southeastern Conference opponents by 28 or more points.

LSU has won all eight of its 2011 games by double digits, despite a schedule that has included Top 25 programs like Oregon, West Virginia, Auburn and Florida.

Alabama hasn’t been much different. Guess what? They, too have won exactly four-straight SEC games by 28 or more points.

The Crimson Tide’s non-conference schedule hasn’t been quite as tough as LSU’s, but Alabama has had a more difficult SEC slate, already having a win against Arkansas, whom LSU hasn’t yet played.

The Tigers obtain success thanks to a two-part formula.

The first part is ball control offense.

LSU likes to run the football to set up the pass.

The second part is defense, disgusting, mean, obnoxious defense.

LSU has allowed 41 total points in five SEC games.

Guess what?

Alabama also has a two-step plan to dominance.

Guess what?

The steps they follow are the exact same steps as LSU, both offensively and defensively with conservative offense giving way to mean and ornery defense.

Like all big games, I expect three things to be the deciding factor.

The first will be turnovers.

In a game of evenly matched opponents, the team that gets an extra possession or two, or the free three or six points, will probably be the victor.

Here, I give LSU an advantage. I know the Tigers are playing on the road, but if LSU didn’t get rattled at West Virginia (where beer is sold in the stands, enough said), then they never will.

The Tigers have turned over the football just three times in eight games, easily the best mark in the country.

Alabama’s no slouch, having turned it over just eight times; but on paper, LSU still has a pretty clear edge in takeaways.

The second factor in the game will be passing offense.

Both teams want to run the football. Both teams likely won’t be able to effectively. Alabama’s No. 1 in America in rush defense and LSU trials behind at No. 4, you just don’t run the football on these guys.

So with that aspect of the game expected to be bottled up, which quarterback will be able to hit passes down the field to stretch the chains?

For this, I say it’s a push.

Alabama’s AJ McCarron isn’t as bad as Nick Saban made him out to be in the spring, having tossed for 1,664 yards, 10 touchdowns and three picks this season.

Across the sideline, the one-two punch of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson have thrown for close to 1,400 yards with 15 touchdowns and one interception.

Statistically, LSU has a slight edge because of they have more touchdowns and fewer picks, but because Alabama’s guy is at home, we’ll say it’s a push.

The third factor will be intangibles and chemistry.

For that, I give Alabama the advantage.

The Crimson Tide seems focused on winning the national championship, steamrolling opponents without mercy.

LSU is doing the same thing on the field, but are the Tigers as focused as Alabama is off it?

At times in the past four months, we’ve seen several of the team’s leaders have run-ins with the law and/or flirtations with drugs and other things that will poison your team.

Because of sheer talent, LSU has never been physically challenged on the field, so these distractions haven’t mattered … yet. But against Alabama, LSU’s will and chemistry will be tested.

Can they win a game decided in the 59th and 60th minute? Or is having a good time at the club most important?

I’m not saying the Tigers’ have a bad locker room by any stretch of the imagination, but it just appears the LSU players have a way of balancing good headlines with bad this season.

So in our three-factor litmus test, we gave LSU one edge, Alabama one edge and called one a tie.

Dang, it looks like we’re in store for an evenly matched game no matter how we slice it.

That’s what happens when No. 1 squares off against No. 2.

Enjoy sports fans.

The winner of this game will in all likelihood be your next champion.