BCS Bowl Predictions: LSU vs. Alabama Rematch Will Match Expectations

The first time the LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide got together, they gave us a game that was practically unwatchable. Nobody enjoyed it.

Well, except for the people who thought it was an amazing display of how football is supposed to be. You know, the you-don't-know-crap-about-football-because-you're-a-dumb-hippie crowd. This crowd insisted that it was a great game, and that a rematch would make for the best possible matchup for the BCS National Championship Game.

Unless something ridiculous happens, this crowd is going to get its wish.

In this case, the crazy thing that would have to happen is Georgia beating LSU in the SEC Championship Game. It would be a monumental upset, and one that would smash the BCS picture into pieces and then throw those pieces into a blender.

Then the blender would be detonated, leaving us to pick up the pieces.

Thankfully, this is not going to happen. The Tigers are going to manhandle the Bulldogs just as they've manhandled everyone else they've come across this season. When they're finished, they'll have themselves a date with the Tide at the Superdome on Jan. 9, 2012.

If the first meeting was the "Game of the Century," I don't even want to fathom what kind of label the punditry will slap on the rematch. Rest assured, there will certainly be no end to the chatter about what a great game the LSU/Alabama rematch is going to be.

And you know what? When that talk comes, I'll be inclined to agree with it.

Given what we know about the Tigers and the Tide, we know that defense is going to be on display. We're talking about the two best defensive teams in the country, and they looked the part in their first meeting. Why the offenses even bothered showing up is beyond me.

I'm thinking (see "hoping") that things are going to be different the second time around. Neither LSU nor Alabama is an elite defensive team, but surely they're better than they showed when they met up earlier this month. We saw great defense, to be sure, but we also saw some downright pitiful offense.

If the Tigers and the Tide do manage to sprinkle in some offense in between their defensive skull-crushery, what we're going to get is a game for everyone. The purists will have their defensive display, and the delegates from the ADD generation (i.e. myself) will have more than enough offense to keep their minds occupied.

With enough luck, the game will remain close, and will come down to another tight finish.

Something tells me these two teams wouldn't have it any other way.

Week 14 BCS Rankings

Rank	Team	BCS Average
1	LSU	1.000
2	Alabama	.955
3	Oklahoma State	.871
4	Stanford	.856
5	Virginia Tech	.781
6	Houston	.740
7	Boise State	.703
8	Arkansas	.700
9	Oregon	.686
10	Oklahoma	.671
11	Kansas State	.570
12	South Carolina	.568
13	Michigan State	.537
14	Georgia	.535
15	Wisconsin	.458
16	Michigan	.431
17	Baylor	.391
18	TCU	.331
19	Nebraska	.258
20	Clemson	.198
21	Penn State	.138
22	Texas	.133
23	West Virginia	.124
24	Southern Miss	.072
25	Missouri	.059