Alabama vs. LSU: Trent Richardson's Legs Won't Be Enough for Crimson Tide to Win

As Trent Richardson goes, so go the Alabama Crimson Tide.

I want to say that this is an exaggeration, but it's really not. Alabama is a running team, and Richardson is the only running back it needed this season. It's typically not a great idea to rely on one player that much, but it worked out pretty well for the Tide.

They're going to be hoping for more of the same in tonight's rematch against the LSU Tigers in the BCS National Championship Game. Just like in the so-called Game of the Century, offense is going to be at a premium, and the Tide will ask Richardson to generate the bulk of theirs.

Richardson accomplished that particular mission against LSU in the first meeting between these two teams, rushing for 89 yards and adding another 80 in the passing game. The 169 total yards were by far the most that any running back managed against LSU in the 2011 regular season.

Yet they weren't enough, as Alabama lost on its home turf in overtime by the final of 9-6. Richardson bent the Tigers, but he didn't break them.

Like most other folks, I'm plenty confident that Richardson will bend LSU again. He's an absolute beast of a running back, and even a defense as mighty as LSU's is going to have a hard time containing him. Richardson will get his touches, he'll get his yards and I'd bet good money on him finding the end zone at least once.

But that won't be good enough for the Tide to beat LSU. It would be nice if they could turn Richardson loose and have him beat the Tigers all on his own, but the fact of the matter is that he's going to need help.

This is to say he's going to need help from within his own offense, of course. Alabama's defense should hold its own just fine.

The help has to come primarily from quarterback AJ McCarron. He has a way of consistently being pretty good while at the same time playing at a level well south of great. As long as Richardson is at his side, it's not McCarron's job to be great.

This needed to change in Alabama's first tilt with LSU, and it didn't. McCarron ended up with a respectable 199 passing yards, but he only connected on 16-of-28 passes, failed to throw a touchdown pass and threw a crucial interception. He played well, but LSU's defense got the better of him.

With studs like Morris Claiborne and Tyrann Mathieu roaming around, McCarron is going to be hard pressed to get his revenge. He would be wise to get you-know-who involved in the passing game, but he's also going to need to get Marquis Maze involved and see if his game-breaking speed can't get the Tide a big play or two.

Big plays aren't really Alabama's style, but the Tide are going to need some if they expect to beat LSU. Sustained drives are all well and good, but they're pretty risky against an LSU defense that has a tendency to take the football away.

To boot, sustained drives are just as likely to end in field-goal attempts as they are to end in touchdowns, and the last thing Alabama wants is another field-goal-kicking contest.

To avoid one of those, the Tide are going to need something, heck, anything to happen. And for that to happen, they're going to need somebody to step up.

Somebody besides Richardson, of course. He couldn't beat the Tigers on his own the first time around. He won't beat the Tigers on his own the second time around.