The LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide are all set to duke it out on the national stage tonight in New Orleans. Never before has College Football witnessed a BCS Championship featuring two teams from the same conference. The SEC has been the premier college football conference for over half of the past decade and after the confetti falls tonight, they will add another trophy to their already impressive resume. It is well known that my displeasure of this match up was incredibly high when it was first announced, but now that I've had some time to cool down and watch some bowl games, I could not be more excited for tonight's game. In their first match up, LSU and Alabama combined for 15 points on 5 field goals. Many people critizized the game for lacking offense, I was ecstatic for the defensive out put. It wasn't at all what I expected, but overall I'm glad it happened. Looking back, it really showed that these were to two top teams in the nation. I don't think you could find a defense anywhere in college football that could hold these two teams down. Now that the rematch is upon us, I am certain that we will see much more from both teams tonight. Now that both coaches have had weeks to prepare their offenses, they will finally find the minuscule cracks in the opposing offenses. Whatever happens tonight will be amazing to every degree, so let's break this bad boy down.
For the LSU Tigers, they have had a flawless season. Every game has turned their way as they climbed to the top of the SEC. With key wins against Oregon, West Virginia, Alabama and Arkansas, the Tigers have truly been tested. Most of their success has been accredited to Michael Ford, their star running back. He has been able to pound out 755 yards this season against very tough SEC defenses and will be the key player for the Tigers tonight. His 72 yards against 'Bama in November was a big part of their success that night. If he is able to break a couple of 10+ yard runs early in the game, he will be able to gain confidence and put the Alabama defense on their heels. The passing game is lead by the tandem QB attack of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee. Though LSU air raid has been wary at times, it has been enough to get the job done. Jordan Jefferson was one of the main factors in the first match up between these two teams. Tonight, Jefferson is the LSU X factor. If he can hurt Alabama with he legs, he will have great success through the air. Alabama had trouble with him before and he will continue to be a pest for the Tide.
Alabama has had a great season. The only mark for the Tide this season was their loss to LSU. They have had key wins over Penn State, Arkansas and Auburn. They also boast the top defense in all of college football and allow an average of 8.8 points a game. The key player for the Tide is their running back Trent Richardson. He has had over 1,500 rushing yards this season and has collected 20 TDs. Richardson has been a force in all the games he has played in this season including the LSU game where he came up just short on a few plays. The X factor for the Tide is their kicking game. In the first game against LSU, Cade Foster and Jeremy Shelly both missed crucial kicks that would have given Alabama with win. Even though I believe their will be some better scoring in this game, the Tide kickers will need to be ready because this game will come down to the wire and the National Championship could be resting on one of their feet.
The key to this game is which defense will break first. If ether one of these offenses gets out to an early lead with a touch down it will be incredibly hard for the other to respond. A good running game by either team could really set them up for a great night. Another key aspect will be the special teams. Nothing would be more deflating for either LSU or Alabama than giving up a kick return for a touchdown. The Tide's special teams has looked weaker than LSU's, so don't be surprised if it's the Tide that are hurting in this phase.
So who wins? After much debate, it is come down to this... I see...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
ROLL TIDE 21-14
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment