BCS National Championship Game 2012: Special Teams Will Be the Deciding Factor

When LSU and Alabama square off in the BCS title game, whoever wins the special teams battle will be crowned National Champions.

These two powerhouses are evenly matched, as evidenced by their 9-6 field goal fest in early November.

They both have decent quarterbacks, elite running attacks and vicious defenses. That means, unfortunately, this one will come down to the kickers.

Field goal kicking is the kryptonite of college football's best teams. Boise State, Oklahoma State and Oregon all had their hearts broken by missed field goals in the regular season. Ditto for Stanford, Georgia and Virginia Tech this bowl season.

In their first matchup this year, Alabama kicker Cade Foster missed three of his four field goals. Granted, he has a pretty tough job—most NFL kickers would have missed that 52-yarder in overtime.

Still, the percentages aren't encouraging. Foster has only made two of his nine attempts this season.

The Tide also employ junior Jeremy Shelley, who handles the short field goals. He's drained 80 percent of his attempts this season, but he had one blocked by LSU and Alabama will struggle just to get inside his range.

For LSU, Drew Alleman has been excellent this season, making 88.9 percent of his field goals. He was three for three against Alabama, but he was the beneficiary of good field position. He longest attempt was from just 30 yards away.

Both punters will also play a big role, after combining for eight punts in the last matchup. Alabama's Cody Mandell has the scarier job of the two, as he has to keep the ball away from the explosive Tyrann Mathieu.

Mathieu returned 33 punts for 420 yards and two touchdowns this season. Whenever the Tigers are struggling, he makes a game-changing play to turn the momentum. If their offense is lagging on Monday, LSU will need Mathieu to provide a spark in the return game.

The National Championship will be another low-scoring affair. Whoever performs better on special teams will give themselves a huge advantage. And right now, I trust LSU's special teams more than Alabama's.

They have more consistency in the kicking game and Mathieu is the most dangerous playmaker in college football. It will be close, but LSU will prove that they are the best team in the country.

Prediction: LSU 13, Alabama 9