Alabama vs LSU Predictions: Trent Richardson Will Tear Up Tigers Defense

If there's one player in college football that can make LSU's defense look silly it would be Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

LSU's defense is simply dominant, so that's not as much as a negative comment on all the other backs in the country as it is praise for the Tigers.

The very fact that I consider Richardson good enough to be able to tear that defense up really shows you how highly I think of him, though.

Richardson is essentially the perfect back.

He's got breakneck speed, incredible agility and field-vision that a player can only be born with.

He hits the hole hard and is great at making cuts at the line of scrimmage. Once he gets to the second level you might as well give up, because more times than not he's going to hit that second gear and make the secondary look slow.

Not only that, but he's a great receiver out of the backfield and displays excellent hands.

He's a weapon on the field, and either way you look at it it's hard to argue with the 1,583 yards and 20 touchdowns he ran for this season, as well as the 327 yards and three touchdowns receiving.

If you need any more proof of the greatness that Richardson possesses, take a look at what Bleacher Report's NFL draft lead writer Matt Miller has to say about him:

"

Richardson's best assets are his agility and his vision. Watch as Richardson makes multiple defenders miss in the open field. From the handoff we see Richardson make a decisive cut to elude one tackler and then cut across field into the opening. Before taking the ball in for a score, Richardson executes a perfect stutter-step that causes what should have been a sure tackle to break down.

"

Running qualities aside, we would be naive to think that LSU is just going to roll over and let Richardson run all over them.

The Tigers held Richardson to only 89 yards last time these two met, and the Tide couldn't even sniff the end zone.

What makes me so sure that Richardson will be able to reverse his fortunes this time around?

Here's one thing that scouts and talking heads seem to stray away from, but I believe it's going to play an important factor in the BCS National Championship Game: motivation.

Not only will Richardson be looking to bounce back from the last game, but many feel he may have gotten snubbed for the Heisman, which went to Robert Griffin III.

Finally, while he's going to be an early pick in the NFL draft, there is a small chance he could raise his stock even higher with a monster game against LSU's defense.

Richardson has all of the physical tools necessary to dominate in this game, and he's going to be motivated.

Look for him to tear up the LSU Tigers defense.