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Alabama heads into Tiger Stadium as the top-ranked team in the nation, but that won’t impress the LSU Tigers. Ed Orgeron is looking to pull an upset in his short time as Tigers coach, as LSU are valued as a seven-point underdog heading into Saturday night’s matchup.
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This rivalry hit it’s competitive peak in 2012, when the teams met in the 2012 National Championship Game. Earlier that season, LSU edged a 9-6 victory over the Crimson Tide, which stands as the Tiger’s most recent victory in the rivalry. Alabama went on to win the next five meetings, most recently beating LSU 30-16 last year.
If the Tigers want to avoid six straight losses to their rival, they’ll have to win matchups against Alabama’s monster defensive front. Bama leads the SEC with 32 sacks this season, and the Tigers have one of the worst passing offenses in the conference.
The obvious key for LSU will be getting good blocking for star RB Leonard Fournette. But if Fournette gets bottled up and LSU is forced to throw, that’s when Nick Saban can start dialing up the pressure.
LSU started the season 2-2, but they’ve been outstanding in their three previous games. They might be hot enough to slow down the Tide, but won’t be able to get enough points on the board to keep up for four quarters.
Heavy’s Pick: Alabama 31 LSU 16. Alabama -7. Over on the Point Total.