The annual Alabama-LSU rivalry is Exhibit A this weekend for how the expanded College Football Playoff has changed what constitutes a high-stakes game in November.
Both teams have two losses and neither has a top-10 ranking in the AP Top 25, yet the winner of Saturday night's clash in Tiger Stadium will remain on track to become one of the 12 teams who'll compete for a national title in January.
“We’re right in the middle of it,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “There’s so much football to be played that the initial (CFP) rankings is just the horses getting into the gates.
“It would be nice to be on that inside track and be No. 1, but certainly there’s a lot of race ahead of us,” Kelly continued. "Now, you’ve got to play well for the remaining four weeks of the season.”
No. 14 LSU (6-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference, No. 15 CFP) did not play particularly well during the second half of its previous game at Texas A&M on Oct. 26. The Tigers went into halftime with a 17-7 lead, only to leave College Station with a deflating 38-23 loss.
The No. 11 Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-2 SEC, No. 11 CFP) stumbled a little earlier in the season at Vanderbilt and at Tennessee, but rebounded two weeks ago with a resounding 34-0 demolition of Missouri.
“You saw our response, I think, with the Missouri game," first-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “That’s just more experiences that you have together, backs to the wall. There’s different things that different teams respond well to.”
As usual, both teams had a bye in the week leading up to their traditional early November showdown, giving them a chance to be a little healthier and better prepared for what has long been one of the biggest match-ups on either team's slate.
Milroe vs. LSU
It was perhaps the first game when the college football world realized just how dangerous Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was as a runner. Milroe ran for 155 yards and four touchdowns against LSU last season while passing for 219 yards.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed ran for three touchdowns against LSU’s defense, and Milroe presents another quarterback who can run.
“That’s just hard for any defense to go against,” Milroe said. “It’s just hard for any defense to stop the element of the pass and the run.”
Riding the “Nuss bus”
Junior QB Garrett Nussmeier, playing the never-easy role of successor to a Heisman Trophy-winning QB, spent most of the season on a promising, upward trajectory — until the second half of his previous game. He threw three second-half interceptions in LSU territory at Texas A&M — a major factor in the Tigers' stunning collapse against the Aggies.
Despite that, he still ranks No. 2 in the SEC and No. 8 nationally in TDs passing with 20. His 328.4 yards passing per game ranks second in the league and fifth nationally.
“He’s a coach’s kid; you can tell he’s been very well trained,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said, referring to the fact that the LSU QB's dad is former NFL QB and current Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier.
“He’s as good as we’ve seen this year — aggressive with the ball,” Wommack said. “I know sometimes that’s gotten him in trouble, but it’s also created a lot of explosive plays.”
Road Bama
Alabama has dropped its last two road games, at Vanderbilt and at Tennessee. A common denominator: Slow starts before a hostile crowd. The Commodores scored two touchdowns in the first seven minutes, including a pick six. It wasn’t that bad in Knoxville, but Alabama did have two punts and an interception on its first three offensive series.
“You just can’t dig yourself a hole, especially giving the opponent momentum in an environment like we’re going to see at LSU,” DeBoer said. “So it’s critical. We preach it every day.”
No Nick
The presence of Nick Saban, who coached LSU's 2003 team to a national title, on Alabama's sideline from 2007 to 2023 gave this already storied rivalry an extra-juicy layer.
Although Saban is now retired, his influence on Alabama — where he won six national titles — endures and remains a factor this year, Kelly asserted.
“This football team still resembles the building blocks of coach Saban," Kelly said. “Kalen took over a program that was in great shape, right? So, a lot of the underpinnings are still there and certainly a very talented team.
“So, there's still that sense that there's the man behind the curtain, if you will,” Kelly said. "You sense that in terms of the overall program.”
