Local coaches weigh in on LSU and Alabama

Purple-and-gold bleeding Tri-parish die hards aren’t the only ones looking forward to Saturday’s battle between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama.

Our local high school coaches want in on the action, too.

Several coaches weighed in on college football’s big game this week. While the analysis of the game varied from coach to coach, one common theme remained consistent among all, this is going to be a heck of a game.

“It’s going to be better than the Super Bowl,” Vandebilt Catholic football coach Laury Dupont said. “It really will be that good, better than the Super Bowl.”

“No. 1 vs. No. 2, if you can’t get up for this game, you’re in a heck of a lot of trouble,” Terrebonne coach Gary Hill added. “If you can’t get motivated to be in a game like this, that’s the time where you need to consider giving up that scholarship.”

The first thing virtually every coach points out when analyzing this matchup are the teams’ defenses.

“They’re both ranked statistically in the Top 5 in the nation in scoring defense, rushing defense and all of those things,” Dupont said. “The depth of the teams is unbelievable. … LSU’s second front four can play just as well as its first front four. Alabama’s the same way. The depth is equal both ways.”

“When you have so many playmakers at every position like both of these teams have, it’s just overwhelming,” Houma Christian’s Chad Callais said. “LSU has just so much talent. … Alabama’s the same way. Both teams just have so much talent up front, but in the back-end, as well. It’s unbelievable, really.”

The coaches say they believe the two units are basically the same philosophically, aggressive units that play almost exclusively out of the nickel and dime packages.

From that arrangement, everyone expects to see a lot of one thing on Saturday.

“Both teams love to send a lot of pressure and I think you’ll see that a lot [Saturday],” Thibodaux coach Chris Dugas said. “Jarrett Lee and McCarron for Alabama, they’re not two guys that you’ll think of as far as escape-ability. I think you’ll see a lot of pressure in those third downs and obvious passing downs from both sides.”

Morgan City coach Brandon Nowlin, who played for Nick Saban when he attended LSU, agrees blitzing will be a huge part of Saturday’s game.

He believes because of that, the first advantage of the game goes to the Tigers.

In blitzing situations, defensive backs must guard wide receivers man-to-man.

Nowlin believes the Tigers have better receivers than the Crimson Tide and are thus, more likely to win those matchups on the edges.

“Somewhere along the line, either offense will have to make some plays in the passing game,” Nowlin said. “Whether it’ll be on third down or any of those passing situations. … I think LSU’s got an advantage with the skill guys. You have guys like Rueben Randle, Russell Shepard and that little No. 33 Odell Beckham, anytime you have that, you have the ability to get the ball in their hands and all they have to do is make one guy miss and it’s a big play. I think we actually haven’t quite seen the full potential of just how explosive LSU can be offensively. … Alabama’s skill players aren’t bad, but I just think LSU has the edge there.”

Hill agrees and said the Tigers are more likely to score points because of their depth on the defensive line and at the halfback position.

He believes LSU will shut down the running game, which will make Alabama’s passing game more predictable and thus easier to stop.

“Alabama’s going to have to depend on Richardson a lot more,” Hill said. “And no one’s got the stable of backs that LSU’s shown in the past couple of weeks. … I just think also LSU’s defensive line with all of the guys they rotate in being able to stay fresh, that defensive line will be able to wear out Alabama’s offensive line and tackle those two backs.”

If the Tigers have the edge on the outside, Alabama definitely does on the inside.

Not inside the offense or defense, but inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Everyone surveyed said the Tide’s biggest edge isn’t a player, nor a coach, but rather 90,000-plus fans inside the stadium who will be cheering for Alabama.

“That’s huge,” Dugas said. “In a big game like that in any situation, you always want to be the home team. Having the 12th man in the crowd, being on your home field, having your same routine in your own home stadium, that’s always an advantage to you as the home team.”

“Being a night game in Tuscaloosa with that crowd, it’s definitely going to be an advantage for Alabama and will cause some communication problems for LSU,” Hill said. “Alabama tends to play a little harder at home.”

But others warned to take the Alabama advantage with a grain of salt because LSU’s won in difficult environments before.

“It’s definitely an advantage to Alabama, no question,” Callais said. “But LSU’s played in hostile environments. Everyone said West Virginia would be a problem, but they didn’t have any issues with that. Even playing at Mississippi State, I know their record doesn’t reflect it, but back when they played them, they were a Top 25 team and it was a Thursday night game coming off of a short week and they still won. LSU handles playing on the road extremely well.”

In a game of two evenly matched foes, offense and defense might not even decide the game, coaches warn people to not forget special teams.

“Net punting, net kickoff return average, all of those things are magnified even more in a game like this,” Nowlin said.

“When you look at big games, it always comes down to two or three plays that decide the game,” Dugas said. “Usually one of those plays is in special teams. Whether it’s a kick return or a punt return or a blocked punt or a fake, one of the keys plays in these games is always on special teams. … Whoever makes that play in this one might get that edge.”

Dupont said if special teams is a factor, he believes it’s another notch on LSU’s belt.

“I don’t think Alabama can stack up to LSU in the kicking game,” Dupont said. “LSU’s been great there. I think they have a real edge. And in a game like this, that’s big.”

With the analysis complete, the coaches were asked to do something they never enjoy doing, make a prediction.

Dupont didn’t share a score, but added he believes it’ll be the best game of the season.

The other coaches timidly answered the bell and gave their picks.

“It’s definitely going to be a great game and will be fun to watch,” Callais said. “I’d say LSU 24-17.”

“It’s tough because I think if LSU gets a few big plays, they could win with like a 28-10 score or something like that, because they just play so well with momentum and emotion on their side,” Hill added. “But I’ll go with 24-16 LSU as my pick.”

“It’s going to be a battle, but give me LSU in a 17-14 type of game,” Dugas said.

“I look at it and it could be a 24-21 game for LSU in overtime score,” Nowlin said. “No matter how it goes, it’s going to be bittersweet for me because of my ties to LSU, but then also my ties to Coach Saban and not just him, but several guys I played with are with him in Alabama, so it’s tough. … I just will enjoy the game either way, because it’s what SEC football is all about. It really is.”

Regardless of the prediction, the football weekend will not end on Friday this week for our local coaches, all eyes are on this matchup.

“The best two teams in the nation are playing and the best two coaches in the nation are going against one another,” Dupont said. “I don’t think there’s anybody close to them right now. … I’ll say it again. I truly think it’ll be better than the Super Bowl.”