BCS Rankings: LSU Would Prefer Oklahoma State Instead of Alabama in Title Game

The No. 1 LSU Tigers have officially finished the season undefeated following a victory over Georgia in the SEC championship game. The team now awaits either No. 3 Oklahoma State or No. 2 Alabama in the BCS national title game.

In analyzing both teams, it is evident that the Alabama Crimson Tide are the team that these LSU Tigers would least prefer to go up against.

For one, LSU has to be conscious of the fact they were barley able to squeeze out a win in their meeting with Alabama earlier this season. The 9-6 win over the Tide was a game in which Alabama had, for the most part, outplayed these Tigers.

Having an advantage in time of possession, yards, and third-down conversions, Alabama had controlled the tempo of the game, yet were unable to come up with points to show for it. The Tigers prevailed in the end, although it was easily the most difficult team LSU has played all season.

Talk about putting teams away.

The Tigers have beaten every team they played by double-digits, with the exception of the Crimson Tide.

The other factor that makes the Crimson Tide the more feared of the two teams is that their defense allows the fewest points of any team in the nation, just 8.8 points per game.

Alabama has proven they are the most dominant team in the country. The Crimson Tide are better than the Tigers at what they do best, making them all the more of an intimidating opponent.

Alabama has also proven they are the more battle tested of the two teams. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are 4-0 in their games against ranked opponents while the Crimson Tide is 4-1, yet Alabama has arguably played the more difficult group of teams.

Alabama has beaten Penn State, Arkansas, Florida and Auburn all by double-digits, while the Cowboys have wins over Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Oklahoma.

Although it's not by much, the Crimson Tide certainly had the more difficult schedule. They also have higher quality wins against the ranked opponents they faced than have the Cowboys.

The Tigers must inevitably be fearing a rematch with the Crimson Tide. They know they were put to the ultimate test in the 9-6 win earlier this season.