College Football Game of the Week: No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No. 14 LSU Tigers

The No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide travel to Baton Rouge for a date with their rival, No. 14 LSU Tigers, in the “Saban Bowl” on Saturday in primetime. Alabama leads the all-time series 56-27-5.

A year ago, these SEC rivals met in Tuscaloosa, where No. 8 Alabama handled No. 14 LSU, beating them 42-28.

Last year was a very different year for both teams. At the close of the 2023 season, the Tide lost their head coach, Nick Saban, who is widely considered to be the greatest college football coach of all time.

Kalen DeBoer has been trying to fill the large void that Coach Saban left as head coach for the Tide. This void is proving to be tough to fill as they have had to deal with inconsistencies and a lack of discipline on both offense and defense this year.

On the other hand, LSU gave up their 2023 Heisman trophy-winning quarterback, Jayden Daniels, to the NFL Draft after the season.

Junior QB Garrett Nussmeier has been doing his best to fill the shoes of Daniels this season, but nothing can replace a Heisman trophy-winner and his leadership.

Both teams come into the game with a 6-2 overall record. Alabama is coming into the game fresh off a bye week, while LSU is coming off a brutal SEC loss against the Texas A&M Aggies.

Before the bye week last week, Bama put on an impressive performance in T-Town, shutting out the Missouri Tigers 34-0. Before that, though, they suffered horrendous upsets in Nashville against Vanderbilt and Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers.

Before the loss to Texas A&M, LSU’s only other loss came in the first game of the season when the USC Trojans came to Baton Rouge to knock off the favored Tigers. The Tigers impressed everyone this season when they were ranked No. 13, and they beat the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels in overtime by three at Tiger Stadium.

Alabama’s star freshman WR Ryan Williams will try to continue his productive season when he is matched up with the Tigers’ secondary. He is leading the team in receiving yards, by almost 250 with his 702 yards.

One of the most athletic QBs in the NCAA, Jalen Milroe, will try to get the pigskin to his star WR, but also exploit his athletic-play style by rushing the team down the field and into the endzone. Milroe leads his team with 12 Rushing TDs.

LSU’s offensive line is among some of the best in the country. They will be tasked with keeping Bama’s defensive line away from LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier. Courtesy of the O-line, Nussmeier has been sacked only four times this year.

LSU’s O-line has allowed Nussmeier to pass all over defenses this year. LSU WRs Kyren Lacy and Aaron Anderson have enjoyed the O-line giving plenty of time to Nussmeier so he can pass to them as both WRs each have over 600 receiving yards this season.

It will be a movie in Baton Rouge at Tiger Stadium on Saturday at 7:30. Will LSU pull off an upset of the Crimson Tide, or will Alabama continue its dominant ways at the “Saban Bowl?”

Chase Yingling is a third-year student majoring in digital/print journalism. To contact him, email cey5100@psu.edu.