On Saturday, Alabama Football will have its toughest test of the season when it matches up against LSU. The country’s 8th and 13th-ranked teams will face off in a matchup that very well may decide the SEC West. In the second season under Brian Kelly, the LSU Tigers are 6-2 with one of the nation’s most explosive offenses leading the way. The Alabama Football team on the other side has been led by its stout defense. Alabama Football has shaken off its early loss to the Texas Longhorns rattling off six straight wins to get them back into the AP Top 10. Rankings and standings aside let’s take a look at the matchup by the numbers.
A tale of two offenses:
The LSU Tigers lead the nation in many of the top metrics offensively while ranking highly in some others. The LSU Tigers lead the country in yards per game averaging 552.9 yards per game, they’re the nation’s third-ranked passing offense averaging 339.9 yards per game through the air. While being so highly ranked passing it’s even more impressive that LSU is the nation’s 14th-ranked rushing offense averaging 213 yards per game on the ground.
The Alabama offense is the nation’s 78th-ranked offense in terms of yards per game averaging 366.6 yards per game. The Alabama football team averages 219.5 yards per game through the air while averaging 147.1 yards per game on the ground.
A tale of two defenses:
While LSU looks far superior when just examining the offenses the defenses tell a different story as that is the heart of this Alabama Football team. The Alabama football team is led by its Defense who ranks 17th in the country in yards per game allowing only 306.4 yards per game. The Alabama defense is 29th passing allowing only 197.6 yards per game passing. The Alabama rush defense is 22nd in the nation allowing only 108.8 yards per game to opposing rushers. The defense only allows 16.5 points per game which stacks up 16th in the country.
As for LSU, defense has been their Achilles heel at times being the reason they lost to Ole Miss and allowing inferior opponents to hang around late into games. The LSU defense is the third worst in the SEC allowing 26.5 points per game. The LSU rushing defense has been the real struggle allowing 156.5 yards per game on the ground. A historically good defense against the pass has struggled the past few seasons this season LSU ranks 10th in passing defense in the SEC allowing 238.5 yards per game passing.
Spectacular Talent on both sides of the ball.
In this matchup between the Alabama Football team and the LSU Tigers will showcase some of the most talented players in the country. Jayden Daniels of LSU has been incredible in 2023 as he’s cemented himself as one of the Heisman candidates. Daniels ranks fourth in the nation in passing yards and leads the country with 25 passing touchdowns. His two main wide receivers have some of the most impressive stat lines in the country. Malik Nabers leads the country with 981 receiving yards and ranks 5th with 9 receiving touchdowns. Brian Thomas Jr leads the country with his 11 receiving touchdowns and ranks 16th with 732 receiving yards. The standout on the LSU defense is Safety Andre’ Sam whose three interceptions rank fifth in the SEC.
The talent on the Alabama Football team’s defense is similar talent-wise to what the LSU team has on offense. The dominant duo of Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell rank eighth and sixteenth in sacks with Turner’s eight sacks leading the SEC. True Freshman Safety Caleb Downs ranks sixth in the SEC in tackles and second in tackles as a defensive back impressive for a true freshman starting for an Alabama Football team.
Alabama Football: Preparing for the nation’s top passing attack.
When the Alabama football team takes the field on Saturday it will be a matchup of the nation’s top offense against one of the nation’s top defenses. The bye week came at the perfect time for the Alabama defense as injuries were starting to pile up. Terrion Arnold left the Tennessee game with a concussion, Malachi Moore was recovering from an ankle injury, and Deontae Lawson was battling with a nagging foot injury. The week off has given the Alabama Football team time to recover from injuries and prepare for a prolific passing attack. LSU needed the bye to recover as they also deal with the injury bug as two key lineman and multiple defensive backs look to recover for Saturday’s showdown.
Note: All Stats Via ESPN