Re: 3 days till bama (psst...I learned that if you rip on Bear Bryant, Bama fans get really cranky)... LSU 93 Bama 2 (we take a safety to run out the clock)
Re: 3 days till bama Hopefully if they start doing 3 step drops our Corners will play tight and bump their receivers at the line of scrimmage. That will throw off the routes and cause incompletions or will give the D-line time to get to Croyle.
Re: 3 days till bama There are two different ways to look at a ball game. One, what your mind tells you and the second, listening to your gut/heart. I've been fighting the battle for several weeks now and as each and every day passes, depending on the hour, one will win over the other. Before I go on, this caveat. Alabama can win this game and I could sit here and tell you several ways we can win it. One thing is for sure, I've heard from several of the players this week and they feel they can win this game. I'd expect it. I also know the coaching is very confident going into this game, and that is something I expected also. If they weren't, I'd be concerned. I'm going to put the hypotheticals aside, the heart and emotional aspect back in its compartment, and look at this game from a view as unbiased as I can manage. There is no doubt in my mind that LSU is the most difficult game we have had to date. The term we've used in conversations this week about LSU is dangerous...meaning, the most dangerous team we've faced all year. I'm still chuckling from reading pre-season publications that said we'd lose to UT, UF and AU but beat LSU. I've said from day one we'd split these games 50/50 and end up around the mark of 7-4 - 8-3. Since we've managed to get by UT and UF it still looks like I have a chance of ending the season close to being right. (I thought we'd lose to either Ark or USC) From a position by position standpoint: QB's- I am going to give Bama the edge. That isn't taking anything away from Russell although Brodie has shown a slight advantage when it comes to avoiding mistakes. Russell, still hasn't reached his peak as far as an SEC QB. He's improving, but not there yet. When we look at a depth standpoint it is a wash and I feel safe saying that simply because of my experience with JPW and MG. Advantage Bama...ever so slightly though. Offensive Backfield- If Broussard were healthy it would be LSU running away as far as the advantage goes. With Addai, you don't have as much depth but still have more depth than Bama fields right now. Darby has proven himself as one of the elite running backs in the SEC and if I were to compare the backfields head to head I'd take Darby over Addai. The swing vote here comes from the depth aspect. When you look at the FB situation Bama puts McClain up followed by Castille who still isn't 100% following last years injury not to mention getting banged up some this year. After those two, we are fielding players with no experience. Backing up Darby are two freshmen. They've shown promise, but still FRESHMEN. It's not a question if they can get the yards. It's a question if they can handle resposibilities besides running the ball. Advantage LSU. WR's- Again, it falls into a numbers game. Without Prothro, Bama has still managed to keep the yards per game where it was with Hall and Brown. After those two, there is a significant drop off with Knight claiming the 3rd position. When you look at LSU you have Doucet, Davis, Green not to mention Brazell (who I think is probably one of the fastest receives we'll face). TE's...again, a numbers vs experience thing. Advantage LSU. OL- We've talked about this ad nauseum. Advantage LSU. LB's- It's the heart of our defense. Ryans will be playing on Sunday's. Roach literally caused the meltdown from MSU single handedly and Simpson has been consistant all year long and has great speed. I've been impressed with Highsmith simply due to his play weighed against the fact he wasn't supposed to start this year. I can't remember the MLB's last name...Cameron ______, .... I know he's #2 in number of tackles. There is no doubt that the LB's LSU fields are a good group. But, Alabama has a great group. Advantage Bama. DB's- Talent wise, depth wise, etc. this ends up being a pretty even matchup. So, where is the advantage? Both units have been good against the run, both have DB's that are in the top 3 (team wise) as to # of tackles so when you look for an advantage the only one I find is productivity where Alabama has close to 2X the number of picks LSU has at this point. Advantage Bama- but a slight one. DL- This can be said in two words. Wroten and Williams. Alabama has had trouble in the interior of the OL all year long and unless they play above their heads it looks like it could again. If you look at this game from a pure stat standpoint both team have good #'s. 7 compared to 16 in rush defense, Bama. 1 compared to 3 in total defense, Bama. But, to date, LSU has created more problems for opposing offenses than the Tide's group has. Advantage- LSU Special Teams- This category is almost a push until you look at one aspect I've already discussed, ad naseum. Alabama OL will likely have the Tide punting more than lining up for field goals in this game. Advantage- LSU. That pretty well gives a tally of LSU- 5, Bama -3. 4 categories are really close. RB's, QB's, ST's and DB's. Mistakes/penalties/turnovers. Variables we can't count today, but will count Saturday....BIG TIME! If we take the variables just mentioned away and look at position by position analysis here's where my mind see the game ending... LSU. Literally, I think you'll score 2 TD's and 2 FG's....so ending up with 20. Bama- I think we'll get it in the end zone 1 time, and kick 2 FG's...missing a 3rd. Final? 20-13 LSU wins. If there is one area we can't dismiss in this game it is this. This Bama team has dealt with a lot over the last 4 years and these seniors have stuck together through it all. That, creates a bond as strong as the closest of family ties. That bond, can overcome a lot. Heart. It's an aspect that can't be weighed, measured or forecasted. We'll know how much of a bearing it will have come Saturday night. It's been a fun week guys. Roll Tide Roll!
Re: 3 days till bama A fine defense. Number one. But those lofty numbers are going to go down this Saturday, I predict. Look at the offenses Bama has played: NCAA Total Offense rankings Arkansas -- #55 Florida -- #61 Southern Miss -- #85 Tennessee -- #98 Ole Miss -- #104 South Carolina -- #100 Utah State -- #106 Middle Tennesee -- #111 Mississippi State -- #112 LSU's offense is ranked #33 and improving in every week. Bama's defense holds some impressive numbers but they are misleading when they have not faced an upper-tier offense yet this season. They haven't even seen an average offense! LSU! will move the ball. LSU! will score some points.
Re: 3 days till bama Me too. After all, it's been said that no one can recall the last time an undefeated top 5 SEC team was an underdog in their own stadium in November.
Re: 3 days till bama ScottyB28....cuz I can't very well take away touchdowns from my Bama score prediction and still give you guys two! Now what kind of fan would I be. I'd be predicting LSU winning.....I can't do that!:yelwink2:
Re: 3 days till bama Terry, very good analysis. It's those "mistakes/penalties/turnovers" that worry me the most because they could very well be what wins the game for Bama. If those don't happen for LSU, I strongly believe LSU will win.
