LSU-Alabama: The View from Baton Rouge

He's back!!! It's finally here—the game I have had scheduled on my calendar since Nick Saban came back to the SEC. Not that it is a big deal for the players—most of whom I remind everyone, were not even recruited by Saban.

This game could be big for the psyche of the very young LSU football team.

LSU will win if...

Jarrett Lee doesn't commit big-time mistakes...again.

Jarrett Lee doesn't need to win the game for the offense—he just needs to manage the game for the Tigers. He has enough talent around him that all he has to do is get the ball to his playmakers, and the Tigers will have a chance at the end of the day.

The defense decides to show up...

It seems like the strongest part of LSU football has always been its defense, and frankly, it just hasn't been there for a couple of weeks. For LSU to win, they need to be able to stop the run and force Alabama to throw the football. If they can do that, they need to have their secondary cover the Bama receivers.

Alabama will win if...

They drink a lot of Coffee...

Yes, I know it was a dumb joke, but you get the point. They need to go to Coffee, and go to Coffee a lot. Like I said, if LSU can stop the run, Bama will have trouble. On the other hand, if Bama dominates the line of scrimmage, then they can run all over this LSU defense.

They can handle the pressure of a hostile LSU crowd...

I said the players may not be affected by Saban's return, but I can guarantee you that the fans who will pack Tiger Stadium Saturday afternoon will not forgive and forget so easily. This will be one of the most hostile crowds ever to fill Tiger Stadium, and that could pose a problem for Bama. If they can handle the pressure and get the ball to Coffee, then look for Bama to win.

Game Changer

The running backs on Saturday will play a big factor. Who will have the better day: Charles Scott or Glen Coffee? Whoever has the bigger day could very well lead his team to a victory on Saturday. Look for the running backs to impact the game in a major way when 2:30 rolls around.

Prediction

I think that the emotion will help LSU, and the hostile crowd will get into Bama's head early. As long as Jarrett Lee can manage to not make major mistakes on offense and just let the playmakers do the work, I think LSU has every opportunity to come away with the upset.

LSU 24, Alabama 17