LSU vs. Alabama Rematch: Why LSU's Honey Badger Is the Game's Biggest X Factor

He has arguably the most unique name in college football history and one of the most unreal stat lines to go along with it.

And Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu—he of the 11 forced and eight recovered fumbles in 25 career games—may prove to be the biggest X-factor in the BCS championship game on Jan. 9 against Alabama in his hometown of New Orleans.

Not bad for a guy who made just two official visits while a senior at St. Augustine (La.) High School—to Alabama and Tennessee—and walked away from each of those trips without a scholarship offer.

It wasn't until Louisiana State swooped in late with an offer that Mathieu had a landing spot.

That "oh, by the way..." decision by Les Miles and his staff has proven to be one of the best made by any coach during recruiting in the last decade.

Only 5'9", 175 pounds, the Honey Badger leads LSU—big, bad LSU—in tackles with 70, despite missing a game because of a suspension. Of those, 6.5 are for a loss of 44 yards, with 1.5 of those TFLs being sacks.

Additionally, Mathieu has nine passes defensed, seven breakups, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, three quarterback hurries and two interceptions.

And those are just numbers the sophomore has put up this season playing cornerback and, occasionally, safety.

In earning he Southeastern Conference Championship Game's most valuable player award on Saturday night, he showed his worth on special teams by returning a punt 62 yards for a touchdown with Georgia leading the Tigers 10-0 in the second quarter.

The score was his fourth of the season, as many as dynamic Tigers' wideout Russell Sheppard has in 2011.

Can he pull off similar magic against Alabama?

Why not?

He's even better than his nickname.