by Kent Lowe, Sr. Associate Sports Information Director
BATON ROUGE – The biggest game in college football this week takes place in Tuscaloosa where ninth-ranked LSU travels to face third-ranked Alabama in a game that could determine the winner of the Southeastern Conference Western Division.
LSU and Alabama square off at 2:35 p.m. from a sold out Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised to a national audience by CBS. LSU goes into the game with a 7-1 overall mark and a 4-1 league record, while the Crimson Tide stands at 8-0 overall and 5-0 in conference play.
A win by Alabama on Saturday against LSU puts the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game against Florida. A win by LSU puts the Tigers in the driver’s seat for the SEC Western Division title and a possible re-match with Florida in the championship game in Atlanta.
After the Alabama contest, LSU still has conference games against Ole Miss and Arkansas. Auburn and Mississippi State are the league games remaining on Alabama’s schedule.
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LSU GameDay Info LSU at Alabama, TV: CBS Kickoff: 2:35 p.m. CT Driving Directions (Baton Rouge to Tuscaloosa, Ala.) Alabama's GameDay Homepage includes stadium policies, parking, and other details about Bryant-Denny Stadium. |
LSU goes into Saturday’s game having won four straight against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a streak that dates back to a 35-21 victory in 2001. LSU beat the Crimson Tide there in 2003 by a 27-3 count and then followed that with a 16-13 overtime win in 2005 and a 41-34 victory in 2007.
A year ago, Alabama snapped a five-game losing streak to LSU with a 27-21 overtime win over the Tigers in Stadium. It was the first win by Alabama over LSU since a 31-0 victory in Baton Rouge in 2002.
Charles Scott rushed for 112 yards and a pair of scores as LSU had its best offensive outing of the season in its 42-0 win over Tulane on Halloween Night in Tiger Stadium. LSU produced season highs in total offense (455), rushing yards (267) and points (42) as the Tigers had little trouble with their in-state rival. Defensively, LSU limited Tulane to just 216 total yards and only 26 rushing yards. It was LSU’s first shutout of the season and the first by a Tiger team since the 2007 season.
Alabama had last weekend off after scoring a 12-10 win in Tuscaloosa against Tennessee, blocking a field goal attempt at the final gun.
“Alabama is a very good football team,” said LSU Coach Les Miles. “Coach (Nick) Saban has done a very good job there. They’ve gotten better every time we’ve seen them on film. Offensively, they are averaging 31 points and 410 yards per game. Defensively, they rank in the top-five nationally in every statistical category. They are very talented. Special teams, like the rest of their team, is very good and well-coached and productive.
“We enjoy going to Bryant-Denny Stadium. It’s one of the finest collegiate venues in the country. It has a great game day atmosphere. I think this team that we play is very talented and very well-coached. There are no weaknesses. This will be a great challenge for our football team. Our football team will look forward to that, and we’ll look forward to that matchup. Since I’ve been here, we’ve enjoyed games of significance. This certainly is that. It only counts one, but it’s a very important one and one that we’ll look forward to preparing for. I can tell you that we’ve always wanted to honor our best opponents with our greatest effort, and certainly that’s the intent this week.”
The month of November has been good for the Tigers under Les Miles as LSU is 13-4 in games played in November. Two of those losses have come in overtime.
Alabama has five Louisiana members on its roster, while just one LSU player, Josh Williford, is from Alabama. Two LSU assistants – Ron Cooper and Brick Haley hail from Alabama.
The Tigers step back out-of-conference next week with a homecoming game in Tiger Stadium at 6 p.m. against Louisiana Tech, while Alabama travels up to Starkville for a game against Mississippi State.
