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South Lafourche football coach Brandon Nowlin has reasons to root for both LSU and Alabama on Saturday night.
Nowlin was a fullback/H-Back for the Tigers in the early 2000s – a title-winning member of the team’s 2003 BCS National Championship team.
His coach at the time? Oh yeah, it was Nick Saban, who is now at Alabama – a man who Nowlin said he’s grateful to and still admires.
So for that reason, the coach said he will be all eyes on Saturday night as the two SEC titans lock horns in Death Valley.
As for his pick?
He’s going with LSU.
And so are others in the Houma-Thibodaux area, too.
Prep coaches discussed the LSU and Alabama game this past week, and a lot of them agree the Tigers have as good as chance as anyone to upset the mighty No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide.
Nowlin said LSU has new life under Larose native and coach Ed Orgeron – the man who has led the team for the past three games.
He said because of that, he thinks the Tigers have the swagger necessary to possibly overtake the Crimson Tide.
“It’s going to be awfully tough – there’s no question about that,” Nowlin said. “But LSU has had a little bit of extra energy in the past few weeks. It’s an energy that they haven’t had in a long, long time. … I have relationships with people in both locker rooms, and there are people in both places that I have nothing but respect for. But, I’m a Tiger. I bleed purple and gold. I think we’re going to get this done.”
Orgeron was the hot topic among the coaches surveyed about the big game.
Central Lafourche coach Keith Menard said he was a big Les Miles fan, but adds that Orgeron is doing a great job given the situation at hand.
The Trojans coach said against Alabama, the LSU offense will face its stiffest test of the season.
But Menard said he loves how Orgeron’s tweaked the team’s system and has committed to distributing the ball evenly among the team’s playmakers.
“They’re mixing their formations very well, and they’re getting the ball around to different places better than they have before,” Menard said. “I don’t get to watch the college game as much as I’d like to, but I think that’s the No. 1 thing that’s jumped out to me is how well they’re spreading the ball out and how they’ve changed the way that they operate offensively.”
Thibodaux coach Chris Dugas is also impressed with the team’s playmaking, but he wanted to talk about LSU’s defense.
Dugas said that the No. 1 thing he’s noticed is the Tigers are among the best defensive teams in the country. He said that will present challenges to Alabama – especially being on the road at Tiger Stadium, while fielding a true freshman quarterback.
“LSU has been so, so good defensively,” Dugas said. “They’ve really been extra special on that side of the ball – especially in the past few weeks. Alabama has been doing some nice things to make their young quarterback comfortable, but I think the LSU defense will have enough to limit a lot of what Alabama is looking to do. … It may be a low-scoring game.”
Longtime well-known local coach Don “Coach Rod” Rodrigue agrees. The retired high school coach said the Tigers’ defensive front will be a big key to the game.
Rodrigue said he thinks LSU can
pressure Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts, but he’s considered about the inside running game.
“I just wish we had some more big bodies,” Rodrigue said. “I’d feel so much better about if it we had (Christian) Lacouture. The LSU defensive line is talented, and they have a lot of really good players. I just worry if they will be big enough to compete with Alabama’s offensive line – especially in that fourth quarter and that second half.”
But no one thinks this is mission impossible for the Tigers, despite some of the concerns and analysis.
Menard said he’s not one to make predictions, but he thinks LSU takes momentum into the game, and that sometimes goes a long way in college football.
Dugas, too, said he leans toward LSU, and thinks the one-two punch of Derrius Guice and Leonard Fournette will be boosted in the passing game by quarter back Danny Etling. “I think it’s going to be different than some of the other years,” Dugas said. “I think they’re going to be able to move the football a little bit better. I don’t think it’ll be a shootout, but I think they can get some drives.”
And as for Nowlin, he said he identifies two major paths to victory.
First, LSU must win special teams. Second, they must not commit a turnover that directly leads to points for Alabama.
If the Tigers do those two things, Nowlin thinks he will watch his alma mater beat his college coach for the first time in quite a long time.
“It’ll be a special weekend for us,” he said. “My wife and I are planning to go, and we’re trying to bring our baby girl with us, too. It’d be our first time back to the stadium all together as a family. It’s a special, special place and it’s a big game. We definitely can’t wait. We’re excited.”
LSU halfback Leonard Fournette makes a move during the Tigers game against Alabama last season. Area high school coaches offered their thoughts on the annual matchup this week. They all seem to agree that the Tigers have a shot to win the game if they can sustain drives and avoid crucial turnovers.
