BCS National Championship Preview

After another enthralling season of college football that saw everything from epic victories, shocking upsets, and disheartening scandals, fans of the game now have dozens of bowl games to view over the next few weeks. Whether or not you believe that college football should have a playoff system, no one can deny that the two best teams in the country are playing in the title game. LSU is 13-0, dominating teams in the nation’s toughest conference despite an early season suspension of their quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Alabama is 11-1, with their sole loss coming to LSU in overtime, 9-6. The SEC (Southeastern Conference) has produced the last 5 national champions, and is guaranteed to produce a sixth straight when the Tigers meet the Crimson Tide in an unprecedented rematch of two of the best defenses college football has ever seen. Here’s how they matchup:

LSU
Alabama
Edge
QB


Normally teams that have two quarterbacks split time aren’t successful, but that hasn’t stopped Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee, who have both stepped up when the other struggled. Jefferson should expect most of the snaps, but it he falters early, don’t be surprised to see the capable Lee step in.
Alabama football is not usually about the QB as much as the rushing and defense, but AJ McCarron has had a very efficient season, throwing 16 TDs and just 5 interceptions.
LSU: Jefferson is the better playmaker, especially with his feet, and has far more experience dealing with adversity than the younger McCarron.
RB


The Tigers have the deepest running back core in the nation, splitting time between 4 or 5 backs each game. Michael Ford, Spencer Ware, Alfred Blue, and Kenny Hilliard all have at least 7 TDs.
Heisman candidate Trent Richardson had another monster season, rushing for over 1500 yards and 20 TDs.
Bama: Richardson is a nearly unstoppable force who will want to avenge his scoreless effort against the Tigers earlier this year.
WR


Rueben Randle has been great this season, hauling in 8 TDs and over 900 receiving yards, including averaging 18 yards per catch.
Senior Marquis Maze hasn’t scored a TD since Game 1, but was a valuable contributor when the Tide won the national title in ’09, so don’t be surprised if he steps up.
LSU: The 6’4” Randle and the speedy Russell Shepard have combined for 12 TDs and can create huge matchup problems.
O-Line

The Big Uglies have given up only 14 sacks and created lots of holes for their rushers to fly through.
Led by All-American Barrett Jones, the Tide have only given up 15 sacks and have paved the way for Richardson’s stellar year.
Bama: Jones and company have size and experience, including a national title two years ago.
Front 7 (Defense)


The Tigers have two of the best defensive ends in the country in Sam Montgomery (9 sacks) and Barkevious Mingo (8 sacks)
Future early-round NFL draft choices Courtney Upshaw (8.5 sacks) and Dont’a Hightower have wreaked havoc all season long.
Tie: The matchup between the nation’s best Des and LBs should be awesome.
Defensive backs
Tyrann Mathieu, who won the Chuck Bednarik Award (given to the best defender in college), and Morris Claiborne, who won the Jim Thorpe Award (given to the best defensive back in the country) are the best it gets.
Mark Barron was a shut-down DB on the Tide’s legendary, title-clinching defense in ’09, and he picked off Jarrett Lee earlier this season.
LSU: Mathieu, who was a Heisman candidate, and Claiborne should be starting in the NFL this time next year.
Special Teams
Kicker Drew Alleman is 3 for 4 on field goals of 40 yards or more, and has hit 16 of 18 overall.
Kicker Jeremy Shelley is 16 for 20 on field goals, but is 0 for 2 from beyond 40 yards.
LSU: LSU has the better kicker, and while neither team has a big-time returner, a special teams’ touchdown could be the only way to get in the end zone in a game where points will be at a premium.
coaches
Les Miles won it all with the Tigers in ’07 despite losing 2 games earlier that season. This team is much better than the ’07 club, and he helped them beat the Tide in Alabama already this season.
Nick Saban, a former LSU head coach, won it all in ’09 with Alabama, but also won a title with LSU in ’03, and would love nothing more than to conquer his former employers.
Tie: Miles, known as the “Mad Hatter”, will have some tricks up his sleeve, but Saban never fails to learn from his mistakes, and he’s had his Crimson Tide ready for a rematch since the day they lost to LSU.
SOS (strength of schedule)
The Tigers defeated 8 ranked teams this season, including wins over #2 Alabama, then-#3 Oregon, and then-#3 Arkansas.
The Tide have beaten 4 ranked opponents, but Penn State and Florida turned out to be weaker teams than most people thought.
LSU: The Tigers haven’t just played tough teams all year long, they’ve crushed them, winning their games by an average of 4 TDs.

And the winner will be……………………………LSU!! The Tigers have the defensive discipline and depth on offense to hang with the physically-exhausting Crimson Tide all game long, and also have better playmakers on both sides of the ball to get it done in crunch time. Final Score: LSU 13, Alabama 10.