LSU vs. Alabama: Bye Week Favors Tigers in SEC Showdown

One week away from the biggest game of the college football season, the LSU-Alabama matchup looks like the real national championship game. The undefeated SEC rivals will have extra time to prepare for the main event, as both teams happen to be off this weekend.

That preparation time obviously helps both teams, but Les Miles and the Tigers will gain more than Alabama heading into their primetime showdown. Just as in the season opener, when a well-drilled LSU team pounded highly-touted Oregon, the extra practice time should make all the difference next Saturday.

On offense, Alabama tends to be a fairly vanilla outfit, with Trent Richardson’s power running and a conservative passing game being the order of the day. That isn’t going to change much against the Tigers, as Alabama will be happy to play a power game against the speedy LSU defense.

The Tigers offense, however, is far likelier to pull out a trick play or two for a critical game like this one. The more chance they have to polish it in practice, the better the likelihood that Les Miles will look like the Mad Hatter again and not just a gambler coming up snake-eyes.

On defense, meanwhile, both teams are superlative, but LSU has relied more on explosive plays, forcing 18 turnovers and amassing 19 sacks in their eight games. Expect a few tricky blitz packages as the Tigers attempt to coax a game-changing mistake from steady Alabama QB A.J. McCarron.

If Alabama can dictate the pace of the game and play under control, they have the more consistent team. But LSU should be able to convert their extra preparation into a big play or two that will swing the game in their favor, even on the road.