NCAA College Football 2011: LSU and Alabama Will Live Up to Hype

More and more preseason polls are coming out and both LSU and Alabama find themselves atop of the Southeastern Conference and national polls.

But doesn't history tell us the "favorites" are hardly ever the last ones standing in the SEC. Wasn't Auburn picked to finish third in the SEC West last year? Sporting News released its poll with LSU at the top of its rankings and Alabama at No. 3, while Blue Ribbon has Alabama at No. 2 and LSU at No 3.

Does it really mean anything though? All the polls really are is hype, and an Oregon offensive lineman said it best when he told Sporting News that "Preseason rankings are like dialogue on Baywatch—you need them to keep the show going, but they don't mean anything to anyone except nerds."

He couldn't be more right. The preseason polls are meaningful to teams with weak schedules and teams ranked outside the top 20, but other than that, it's nothing but hype. Just like this article. Isn't it true that every year polls over-hype teams and a dark horse emerges?

I mean who would be surprised if the ball bounces Auburn or Arkansas' way a few times and they end up beating both Alabama and LSU. As you know, the SEC is nasty every year, and the SEC West is basically death row this year. I wouldn't call the SEC East weak this year, but you have to wonder if Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are ready to return to dominant form again. All those teams have great talent and great coaching, it just depends on if they can put it together.

South Carolina will be very good, and I believe they have the best running back in the nation in Marcus Lattimore. Sorry Trent Richardson and LaMichael James, but I just love a player that you can pound the rock with 40 times a game and gets better as the game goes on. I mean, if Steve Spurrier will run the ball 40 times a game, that should tell you something right there.

Mississippi State and Auburn will be very hard to beat in the West, while Arkansas will be incredibly hard to stop on offense. LSU and the Tide have the defense to stop any offense as they have two of the best secondary units in the nation.

Both teams are ridiculously similar. Great offensive line, great defense, great talent in the backfield along with at the wide receiver position and questions at quarterback—which team was I talking about, LSU or Alabama?

LSU already proved it can win with inconsistent play at quarterback a year ago with very little experience in the secondary and defensive line. As long as Nick Saban is Alabama's football coach, you can count on a smash-mouth style of play with great defense and a great running game. They have the best offensive line in the SEC and the best defense in the nation, so all Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron will have to do is manage the game. Don't get it twisted, last year proved that great offenses can win you a championship, but defense is still king.

I don't want to get off subject too far here, but people are forgetting that Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley was an absolute animal up front and was just as important to that team as dare I say Heisman-winning quarterback Cam Newton.

Back on subject, the purpose of this article is not to put down any other team in the nation or sing the praises of LSU and Alabama. The purpose is to let people know that for once, the hype is justified. You can believe the media when they say the SEC will come down to Alabama and LSU, because it will.

Both teams have loads of talent and have consistently been a national power ever since Saban resurrected both programs. The great thing about college football and all this hype is that eventually these two teams will play in what will be a showdown for the ages. No boxing Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao B.S. here. These two teams will play, and you can expect the winner to go the distance.