CFN Prediction... BOOO HISSS...

Game of the Week

LSU (7-1) at Alabama (8-0), 3:30 EST, Saturday, November 7, CBS

Why to watch: Alabama still has a nasty, scary road rivalry game at Auburn to deal with, along with a road trip to Mississippi State, and LSU has to go to Ole Miss and has an always tough (for LSU) game against Arkansas, but for all intents and purposes, this should decide the SEC West title and it will go a long way to further the national title discussion. Either Alabama will win and will keep careening to a clash with Florida for the SEC title, and the BCS Championship game, or LSU will pull off a huge road victory and will suddenly be in the hunt for the national title.

LSU blasted Tulane 42-0 last week getting huge production on the ground and an efficient day from the passing attack, but that was Tulane. One of Conference USA’s lowest bottom-feeders wasn’t going to have a chance against the Tigers’ second team, much less the top players, and that wasn’t necessarily a great indication of what LSU could really do. However, the 31-10 win over Auburn a few weeks earlier showed that things might be jelling and coming together at the right time, and this might be the perfect chance to catch a Bama team that’s been begging to be tagged.

With two weeks off, the Tide will be rested and ready coming off the scary 12-10 win over Tennessee thanks to a blocked field goal. The 20-6 win over South Carolina wasn’t impressive, the offense sputtered a bit in a 22-3 win over Ole Miss, and Kentucky was the better team for roughly 40 minutes in a 38-20 Tide win. Style points don’t matter, Alabama will play for the national title if its 13-0, but it’s time for the team to start playing more like a true national title contender. Florida flexed its muscles last week against Georgia, and now it’s Bama’s turn. If not, LSU will go from being an afterthought in the SEC title chase to being in the thick of the national title discussion.

Why LSU might win: The Alabama passing game went from excellent, to mediocre, to awful. QB Greg McElroy threw for over 200 yards in each of the first four games, with his high moment the 17-of-24, 291-yard, three touchdown day against Arkansas. Ever since then, the offense has had to rely only on the running game, which isn’t a bad thing, and the great defense, but McElroy has become a liability and the team has had to hide him. Sound familiar, LSU fans? It’s not like last year for the Tigers, when they had to do everything possible to keep their quarterbacks from throwing thanks to Jarrett Lee’s penchant for giving the ball to the other team, but Bama isn’t exactly letting McElroy take any chances. The LSU defense has been the real deal, even though the line isn’t playing anywhere close to the high standards the program usually sets. The Tide isn’t going to find its passing groove this week.
Why Alabama might win: The Alabama offensive line has a huge advantage over the LSU defensive front. LSU doesn’t get to the quarterback, ranking last in the SEC in sacks, is mediocre at making lays behind the line, and is average against the run. Overall, the LSU run defense hasn’t been awful, but when push has come to shove, teams like Florida, Mississippi State and Auburn were able to shove. Alabama should be able to control the game with the ground attack and with the great pass rush. The Tide defense leads the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss, while LSU is shockingly poor in pass protection allowing a whopping 23 sacks so far.
Who to watch: LSU can’t win this game, or even stay in it, unless QB Jordan Jefferson comes up with a whopper of a performance. The sophomore has been good so far, completing 64% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and just four interceptions, but he hasn’t been special. He hasn’t been bad, and he certainly hasn’t been the reason the offense has lacked a consistent pop (the offensive line is to blame), but he’s being asked to carry the offense when the ground game doesn’t work. The ground game isn’t going to work. Jefferson is going to have to challenge the Tide secondary and he can’t play it close to the vest and hope for the best. That didn’t work against Florida and it’s not going to work against Bama. The Tide can be beaten, but it’s going to have to take a few risks for LSU and Jefferson to make it happen.
What will happen: This will be a clash of two defensive heavyweights. Each team will challenge the other to come through with the passing game, and while Jefferson and the Tigers will throw better, Mark Ingram and the Tide will run more. The major advantage up front for the Tide will be the difference.
CFN Prediction: Alabama 23 … LSU 13 ... Line: Alabama -9
Must See Rating: (By The People 5 … The Men Who Stare At Goats 1) … 5