It’s quite evident that this time, the guys who sit down during the preseason to make the regular season schedule, couldn’t have got it more right. NCAA Football fans across the nation already have their eye on what could easily be described as the hottest game so far this season. On Saturday November 5th, the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide will host the No. 1 LSU Tigers at 8pm EST. At 8-0 and 5-0 in conference play each, the Tigers and Tide are going to take advantage of this BYE week to get it all together and recharge batteries, rest a couple of hurting players and pep their squads, because this is perhaps the biggest game this two teams would have played this season ufabet.
This one game could very well decide who makes it into the National Championship Bowl. Even though Nick Saban, Alabama’s head coach, has insisted that he won’t be doing anything different this week, it is evident that despite his efforts to get the team into the right mindset, the players and fans all know that this is not “just another conference game.” This is really good timing for Saban and his crew. The extra days might be what the offensive line needs to recover some of its starters. Barrett Jones dealt with an injury last week. He was able to recover and play against Tennessee but the extra rest will certainly help his healing. On Saturday’s game, backup Cyrus Kouandjo suffered a knee injury and now he is going to miss the rest of the season. The extra days might allow guard Anthony Steen to recover from the concussion he suffered a few weeks back against Ole Miss. He missed the Tide’s last game and was replaced by Alfred McCullough, but Nick Saban would certainly love to have him back against the LSU. There is no doubt that the LSU Tigers would also benefit from taking an extra week before arriving to Tuscaloosa. They need to find the right equilibrium from getting just enough rest, but staying sharp enough as not to lose their momentum.
The Tigers have been getting better and better every week. Will the extra week of rest slow them down? It’s hard to say. This game has been build in a way that the pressure in on both squads. The No. 1 spot in the BCS rankings is at stake. What’s more, because of the long wait, there has been something of a Super Bowl like build up around this game, and the expectations are set very high for this nationally televise match. The Sooners have already dropt their first game of the season against Texas Tech. Oklahoma State and Boise State are ranked 3rd and 4th respectively but they have played one less game so far this season. Clemson and Stanford are also perfect this season, but so far into the tournament, it is up to these two teams to decide who’s going to play for the National Championship. In it’s last three games, LSU has scored 124 points against and have taken only 28 against. That includes games against then #17 Florida and #20 Auburn. The official football betting lines for this game are still not up. But despite playing on the road, I will guess that Auburn is going to have the upper hand.