The Alabama Crimson Tide doesn’t necessarily need to collect style points in the next few weeks.
By Matt Zemek
They just need to win, because as long as they have only one loss, they can move to the SEC Championship Game to face Georgia in December. If Alabama wins that game and finishes the regular season 12-1, the Tide will not get left out of the College Football Playoff, barring a remarkable series of events. What matters most to Nick Saban is to clean up his team’s level of play, which has gone all over the place this season. Alabama played poorly against Florida, much better against Ole Miss, then horribly against Texas A&M, then better against Mississippi State, then erratically against Tennessee. Will the real Alabama stand up? The Tide just aren’t this volatile in a usual year. What does Alabama have to do against LSU? Let’s find out:
1 – Pass rush
Alabama has struggled to cover receivers downfield. This is what led to the loss against Texas A&M. If Alabama has problems covering LSU’s receivers, the Tigers can establish their passing game and then set up the running game, which could pose problems for the Tide in the second half if the game is reasonably close. LSU would be in a position to implement a ball-control formula and reduce the number of possessions Alabama would have.
With all of this in mind, Alabama’s pass rush has to get home and bother LSU quarterback Max Johnson before he can go through all his progressions and make a full read of the field in front of him. If Alabama can rattle Johnson and shatter both his focus and concentration, it can blow the doors off this game and have a low-stress outing, which is good in light of the reality that tougher tests await later in the season.
2 – Assert dominance up front
The Florida Gators scored 42 points against LSU. If Florida can do that, Alabama can do that at a much higher level. The Crimson Tide could easily score more than 50 points in this game. Their offensive line is the gateway to a blowout. If Bama’s big uglies show up and display territorial control of the line of scrimmage, Alabama will prevent LSU from gaining any foothold in this game whatsoever.
3 – New consciousness
For whatever reason, this Alabama team has looked distracted and not fully locked in all season long. Saban has surely tried to shake his players loose from their doldrums, but it hasn’t worked. Maybe the arrival of November on the calendar will create a new level of urgency. Whatever the case may be, Saban has to find answers to this problem.
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