$13.6M in rec improvements unveiled in Thibodaux
November 1, 2011Houmapalooza returns
November 3, 2011
The crystal ball won’t be given away until Jan. 9, 2012.
But it sure feels like the national champion will be crowned Saturday amidst a sea of crimson in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
With the rest of the college football world watching, the sport’s two best teams No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama will go to battle with supremacy at stake and the inside track at the BCS National Championship on the line.
Kickoff for the widely anticipated matchup, dubbed as the “Game of the Century,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally by CBS.
Both teams appear ready for the challenge.
“It’s going to be great,” LSU senior quarterback Jarrett Lee said. “It’s going to be a good ballgame, obviously. We’re looking forward to it. … It’s going to be a big game for sure.”
“I think [this is] why players come to a place like the University of Alabama, to play in really big games like this against really good teams,” Alabama coach Nick Saban told the Press Register this week. “There’s probably more than two good teams in this country, it just happens to be that we’ve got two in our league, and we have to play. We’re looking forward to it. They have an outstanding team.”
If LSU and Alabama weren’t such bitter enemies, one could mistake them for identical twins, that’s how similar the two’s dominance has been.
The Tigers are 8-0 on the season and have walloped their opposition by double digits in each game.
The fifth-year senior anchors the LSU offense that has averaged close to 40 points per game this season.
Lee started the season filling in for suspended starter Jordan Jefferson. He was able to keep the title of starter with his experience and good play.
The fifth-year senior has completed 98-of-155 passes for 1,250 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception.
Lee’s emergence has allowed Jefferson to slide into a role as a change of pace in the Tigers’ offense, serving as a dual threat in both the running and passing game.
“We realize the other guy may do something that works better for the team in certain situations so we have each other’s backs no matter what,” Lee said. “We’re winning ballgames right now. We’re moving the ball, putting points on the board so we’re going to continue to do that.”
But passing offense isn’t LSU’s offensive bread and butter, that’d be the running game.
The Tigers average 189 yards per game on the ground, sparked by four halfbacks, sophomores Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue and also true freshman and Tri-parish native, Patterson’s Kenny Hilliard.
All of LSU’s offensive weapons will be challenged heavily against the Tide’s defense.
Alabama ranks No. 1 in the country in virtually every major statistical defensive statistic, including rushing, total and scoring defense.
The Crimson Tide’s defense is choked full with NFL talent, including standouts like safety Mark Barron, linebackers Courtney Upshaw and Dont’a Hightower and defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick.
Their play has caught the eye of one LSU defender, who sees a lot of himself in the Tide’s body of work.
“These guys are so competitive, so big,” LSU defensive lineman Sam Montgomery said. “They’re just like us.”
Montgomery’s right, LSU’s defense isn’t half bad, either.
If Alabama’s 1A, LSU’s 1B among the kings of college football defense, ranking No. 3 in the country in both total and scoring defense.
The Tigers are also ranked No. 4 in rushing defense, allowing just 76 rushing yards per game, despite having lined up against Oregon and Auburn, two of the better rushing offenses in America.
“We don’t want anybody to score on our defense,” LSU defensive lineman Michael Brockers said. “I feel like the less points we give them, it just gives our offense an opportunity to win the game for us.”
That stout front will be heavily challenged against Alabama thanks to arguably college football’s best player, Crimson Tide halfback Trent Richardson.
The Tide runner has carried the football 149 times for 989 yards and a whopping 17 touchdowns this season, firmly establishing himself as a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy.
“This No. 3 guy, I forget his name,” Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain jokingly told reporters during the team’s media day. “Anyway he is pretty good, too. Trent (Richardson) is a heck of a player.”
If any team has an Achilles heel in this game, it may be Alabama’s inability to play four quarters.
The Crimson Tide has struggled in the first halves of several games this season.
Alabama has recovered with dominant second halves, but against LSU, Saban knows his team cannot fall behind.
Saban likened his team’s most recent comebacks to Muhammad Ali’s early bouts, adding he’s pleased with his team’s ability to turn things around.
“We want to have a sense of urgency to go out and play well early in games,” Saban told the Birmingham News. “That’s important. I think it’s important to start fast and finish strong. But I think it’s more important to have the stability on your team to continue to play better and better as the game goes on and make the adjustments you need to make, and our team has been able to do that.”
The stats speak for themselves, both teams are ready to allow their play to do the talking.
Both LSU and Alabama roared in their previous games with the Tigers pounding Auburn 45-10 and the Tide stomping Tennessee 37-6.
The teams also shared a bye this past week.
Who uses the bye more productively may just be the team that emerges victorious.
Both teams say the week off was used well.
“Preparation is going to be the key,” Lee said.
“We are going to pick it back up and be ready to roll again,” Crimson Tide linebacker Nico Johnson said.
Now, it’s time for the pads to do the talking.
This one should be pretty good.
“It’s going to be one of the best games ever that I’ve played in in my life, any sport, basketball, football; regardless, video games,” Montgomery said. “It’s going to be the best game ever. It’s one of those things where you don’t know if you’re going to win, and that’s what makes it so exciting.”
