LSU vs. Alabama Is Old-School SEC Showdown Fans Have Been Waiting For
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — If you are an SEC fan who is troubled by the rise of the spread-out, uptempo offenses that have infiltrated the league, you can take a deep breath this week, at least for a time.
Alabama-LSU will much more closely resemble what SEC traditionalists think when they think of a high-profile matchup.
Both teams are in the top half of the SEC in nearly every rushing category. Both feature a stable of punishing backs capable of wearing out opposing defenses. Both teams can set up the play action and use it to deadly precision.
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It’s a combination that has worked for these two teams over the years and continues even as the conference landscape around them changes.
When they meet on Saturday in yet another game with SEC and national title implications, it will be a breath of fresh air and the showdown that old-school fans have been waiting for.
For LSU, it’s been about the emergence of a freshman force.
Leonard Fournette came in with all the hype in the world, and after a lackluster debut he’s turned into the Tigers’ top running back. He leads LSU with 657 yards on the season.
“He's got a lot more confidence right now because of the experience that he's gained throughout the season,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, who battled with Les Miles for his signature out of high school. “He's got great size. He's a very instinctive runner. He's got really good speed, and he can run with power. He's difficult to tackle. A very physical player. They have a very physical team, and they're playing physical football right now.
“There's not a lot of trick 'em to it. You've just got to match and be the same kind of physical team to be able to have a chance to have any kind of success against them. Leonard has been really, really productive, not to our surprise. We thought he was that kind of player, and he's certainly proven to be.”
Behind him are two seniors, Terrence Magee and Kenny Hilliard, who are only two yards apart on the year, but Magee averages over a yard per carry more.
The trio makes up a dynamic rushing attack that is the focal point of LSU’s offense.
“They've said, 'OK, we've got a good offensive line, we've got really good running backs, so we're going to run the football and establish the run,’” Saban said. “‘And you're going to have to stop us. And then we're going to use play-action passes to try to make explosive plays down the field,' which has been very effective for them.”
While it may not look like it on the surface, Alabama’s running the ball about as effectively as it has under Saban. It lost its most explosive back in Kenyan Drake, but T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry have made up a duo that is as good as any pair has been recently.
| 2009 | 5.01 | 215.07 |
| 2011 | 5.49 | 214.46 |
| 2012 | 5.59 | 227.50 |
| 2014 | 5.08 | 218.63 |
Yeldon is still the workhorse and always will be. He’s been a consistent back in his three years in Tuscaloosa and continues to put up big numbers.
Where Alabama has struggled in the run game has been on the offensive line, where the Crimson Tide have dealt with several injuries and only two players have started every game.
“As much as you want to say the next guy is going to come in and there's not going to be a skip, that's our overall goal,” center Ryan Kelly said. “But when you have five guys working together all spring, summer and into the fall and you take one guy out or two guys come in, that's where the leadership takes place. They have to help the young guys out and vice versas. It's all five of us working as one. We're not going to leave anybody out to dry. Just do the best we can.”
Alabama and LSU might look a little different in terms of style of play compared to some of the other great SEC showdowns this year.
There won’t be much secret to what either team wants to do. It’s just a matter of stopping it.
Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.
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