Alabama vs. LSU: Key Matchup Analysis and Game Predictions

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00:00There's a dandy brewing in Baton Rouge. Alabama opens as a two and a half point road favorite

00:06against the LSU Tigers. Both teams coming off a bye. Last time that Alabama played was back

00:11a couple of weeks ago against Missouri. They dominated that matchup 34 to nothing. LSU coming

00:17off the road loss to Texas A&M where they held a 17 to 7 first half lead and allowed it to slip.

00:24They lost by 12 points. When you look at this game coach, last time back in 2022,

00:30this is the game that made Brian Kelly. He rolls the dice in overtime, goes for two and defeats

00:36Nick Saban 32 to 31. Both teams need this ball game Saturday night. How do you think it plays

00:43out? Oh, it's a great, great matchup here. I keep thinking about LSU and of course my expectations

00:50with they would be a little bit better football team. But when you get to big games with a good

00:55defense, they end up not having any running game. They've got to establish the run because when

01:00they don't, they throw the ball 50 times against Ole Miss and 50 times against Texas A&M and they

01:07almost lose or lose the ball game. They have got to establish the run if they're going to be

01:12effective and not put so much pressure on their passing attack. And Alabama is really playing

01:18better now than they were. It's going to be a great matchup. Yeah, I think when you look at this

01:22matchup coach for me, it does come down to the mobility of Jalen Milrow. And I say that because

01:28the last game that they played the LSU Tigers, they had problems with the athleticism in the

01:33second half of Marcel Reed, right? So if Jalen Milrow gets going in terms of the RPO game and

01:40puts pressure on that LSU Tiger defense, especially on the edge, that could open up the play action

01:46passing attack. No, I think without a doubt, his ability to run really is what makes Alabama go.

01:52He is really the center of their offense and against LSU, that will be a problem for them.

01:58As I look at this game and I look at who's going to win this game, I see him being in Alabama and

02:03making the plays that he does, giving them the advantage against LSU and winning that football

02:09game. So now when you look at the offenses right now, Alabama is averaging 177 rushing yards

02:16per game that the more dominant rushing attack, LSU was only averaging a buck 15 on the ground.

02:22And I bring that up because there is potential bad weather in the horizon. There's a hurricane

02:27brewing that's potentially going in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Raphael, which could bring rain,

02:34wind, high winds of 40 miles an hour and LSU. How much of a factor if the weather does play out

02:44that way, do you give the edge to Alabama in terms of this ball game? Well, you know, if they're having

02:50a downpour at the game, again, I've coached at LSU several times. The field is in great shape. It's

02:57not going to affect the ground. You know, if it rains hard during the game, that could be a huge

03:03factor. And I think that would definitely play in Alabama's hands because I've said it before,

03:08when LSU gets against a good team, a good football team, their running game goes way

03:14downhill and they rely so much on the passing game. If that were to happen, I would almost say,

03:20no way can you throw the ball in that kind of weather. But again, I still think without rain,

03:26I think to Alabama, because they can run the football with their quarterback and their

03:29running backs. Nussmeier is not a running quarterback and they have not been able to

03:34run against good football teams. I just worry. I think Alabama has the edge here.