Alabama Football: Bold predictions for each of Tide’s 2020 opponents

Bold predictions for Alabama football’s opponents: LSU Tigers

LSU will see the biggest drop after a national championship since Auburn in 2010.

This is a two-pronged take. For starters, I believe that LSU will be a significantly worse football team in 2020. Every single thing went right for them last season. They had a great quarterback, potential was fulfilled across the board, and they caught Alabama football at the perfect time. They also had the offensive guru, the best offensive line in football, and the best receiver duo at LSU since OBJ and Jarvis Landry.

None of those things will be the case in 2020. Even if they can hold onto their offensive scheme and their new quarterback ends up being an NFL prospect, they will have too much to overcome. I expect them to struggle against the other leaders in the SEC.

The other prong of this take is history. In recent memory, national champions have bounced back and had great seasons. Alabama and Clemson have played in the national championship in every season after winning it since 2015. Ohio State remained solid after winning in 2014. Florida State returned to the College Football Playoff after 2013. Alabama football was one second away from a national championship berth in after they won in 2012, and they repeated after 2011. That gets us back to the 2011 Auburn Tigers, an 8-5 team that was fourth in the SEC West.

These two teams are actually comparable. Both caught lightning in a bottle to win a ring. Both will have to replace Heisman-winning quarterbacks. Joe Burrow and Cam Newton gave us two of the greatest seasons in college football history. I doubt LSU will be fourth in the SEC West, but they’re not going to be competing for the division this year.