Bama Hammer looks ahead with Crimson Keys to this weekend’s matchup: Alabama vs. LSU.
Saturday night, the fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) will do battle with the second-ranked LSU Tigers (7-0) in the annual showdown by the SEC’s two biggest powers of the last decade. Since Nick Saban’s arrival in 2007, the Bama-LSU rivalry has become one of the hottest rivalries in the country and the game has been decided by seven points or less in seven of the nine games. The only games that were decided by more were wins by Alabama in the 2011 National Championship (21-0 Bama win) and the 2013 game between the two teams (38-17 Bama win).
LSU is led by Heisman front-runner Leonard Fournette who has run for an astonishing 1,352 yards and 15 TD so far this year. Fournette has been the best running back in the country, by a large margin this year, and though Alabama has seen a fair share of good backs already this year, he is the biggest test of the year for Alabama’s top three rush defense. Tiger quarterback Brandon Harris has thrown for 1,098 yards and 9 TDs without throwing an interception at all. He has also been able to make plays with his feet as well though it is unquestioned that the offense starts and ends with Fournette. Let’s look at some of the keys for a Tide victory.
Stop Fournette
No one has come even remotely close to stopping Leonard Fournette so far this year. He has run for 159 yards and 3 TDs (vs. Mississippi State), 228 yards and 3 TDs (vs. Auburn), 244 yards and 2 TDs (vs. Syracuse), 233 yards and 3 TDs (vs. Eastern Michigan), 158 yards and 1 TD (vs. South Carolina), 180 yards and 2 TDs (vs. Florida), and 150 yards and 1 TD (vs. Western Kentucky) this year, but if any team is built to stop Fournette it is Alabama. Bama has the deepest and most talented defensive line in the country and the Tide’s big, strong linebackers add to that potential to stop the run.
The truth of the matter is that it may be impossible to completely stop Fournette, no matter if a team has the Alabama defensive line or even the Buffalo Bills defensive line. Fournette is just simply playing a different level than almost everyone else in the country. It will likely see Alabama’s big personnel on the field the majority of the game with Jarran Reed, A’Shawn Robinson, DJ Pettway, and Darren Lake/Daron Payne across the line and Reggie Ragland, Reuben Foster, and Denzell Devall at linebacker.
Oct 24, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) runs against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers during the fourth quarter of a game at Tiger Stadium. LSU defeated Western Kentucky 48-21. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
One weakness that I fear for Alabama is in the secondary with Geno Smith at safety. If (and likely when) Fournette eventually does break off a run into the secondary a safety has to be physical and strong enough to either make the stop or hold Fournette up enough for another defender to come over to help, but if that doesn’t happen he will run over a defensive back as if he were an infant. Smith is not the most physical player to begin with but he is also a bit undersized and a poor tackler at times. This may be the chance that Hootie Jones gets to make an impact as he is extremely physical and a solid tackler.
Ronnie Harrison could also fill that void for the defense as well, but Harrison was nicked up against Tennessee which might hamper his ability to play as much. Alabama has to commit to stopping Fournette, but they can’t over-commit either. It is a very fine line that almost seems to tough to completely handle because if Alabama only concentrates on stopping Fournette, Harris has shown he can make plays as well.
Get Henry Going
One way to slow Fournette and the LSU offense up will be keeping them off the field. That starts with Alabama’s own beast in Derrick Henry. The Tide will have to feed Henry early and often and the offensive line MUST play better than they have in the past few weeks. Hopefully a week off will have given the banged up Alabama O-Line the rest they needed because they will need to open up holes for Henry against the seventh-ranked LSU rush defense. Henry making plays will open things up for Coker in the passing game as LSU is certainly going to commit to stopping Henry in much the same manner Alabama will commit to stopping Fournette.
Coker Must Make Plays, Defense Has to Rattle Harris
As much as the offense will rely on Henry the Tide will still need plays from the QB position. In the last few years, this game has been decided by the QBs. In 2012, AJ McCarron had one of his worst games of the season but put together one of the best drives in the history of the school to win the game at the end. Blake Sims had a similar game and a similar late fourth-quarter drive last season. At some point in the game, Coker is going to have to make some big plays for the offense if nothing more than to loosen up the defense for Henry. Also, defensively Alabama has to put pressure on Harris and force him into mistakes when he goes to the air. Alabama is sixth in the country with 27 sacks this year and they will need for that pass rush to make plays as well to allow the ball-hawking Alabama secondary to come up with some turnovers as well, something they couldn’t manage to do two weeks ago against Tennessee.
Next: TIDE REPORT: Saban's Wednesday Press Conference For LSU Week
The Tide faces off with LSU Saturday night at 7:00 PM (central) on CBS. Stay tuned here on BamaHammer for full coverage of the big game.