Alabama Football: 3 keys for Tide to dominate vs. LSU

Keys for Alabama football to dominate LSU

2. Smitty needs to cook Stingley again

Last year, LSU’s defense was filled with studs. There was nowhere for Tua to exploit, so he had to target Derek Stingley Jr. Stingley was arguably the best corner in college football last year, but he struggled against DeVonta Smith. Fans will remember the long touchdown by Smith against Stingley that kept this game close until the final whistle.

This year, LSU’s secondary is very different. We haven’t heard about Stingley because teams simply aren’t attacking him. Without the stars around him, offenses have attacked weaknesses and done more than enough to beat the Tigers. Having a shutdown corner is great, but it doesn’t matter when the rest of the defense can be exploited.

Alabama could easily do that this week. We could see Najee Harris run for 200 yards or John Metchie could catch multiple 50-yard passes. Those would be recipes for success. However, this is the way that Alabama football dominates vs. LSU. Smitty is Alabama’s best weapon. Stingley is LSU’s best player. Let the best play the best. If Smith dominates, that would send a statement to everyone else on the LSU roster. If Stingley struggles, no one else has a chance against the Crimson Tide.

Steve Sarkisian might stick with the conservative game plan, but this would strike fear in the eyes of the Tigers. It would certainly be fun to watch as well. Smitty will be asking for the ball, so we’ll see if Mac throws it his way.