Comparing Alabama Football and LSU defenses and a need to spy

Alabama Football has not gone into many games this season with what was believed to be a clear advantage defensively. At the end of September, Alabama was No. 19 among FBS teams in Scoring Defense; but six SEC teams were better than the Crimson Tide. For the month of October, Alabama Football slid to a tie at No. 44 in Scoring Defense allowing an average of 22.3 points per game.

The shutout against Missouri indicated Kane Wommack's defense had improved; perhaps significantly. Going into the LSU game, Alabama has the advantage of being a statistically better defense than LSU. Against Power Five teams this season, an upward-trending Alabama Football defense is ranked No. 23 in Scoring Defense. LSU is ranked No. 41. Based on LSU's last game, its inability to slow the running of Texas A&M quarterback, Marcel Reed indicated a downtrend for the Bengal Tigers' defense.

In the LSU loss to Texas A&M, Reed rushed for an average of 6.9 yards. Last week, as the Aggies lost to South Carolina, Reed was held to an average of 2.9 yards. A quick and possibly accurate conclusion based on those two games, LSU's defense is going to have a tough time slowly Jalen Milroe on the ground.

Will the Bengal Tigers decide to spy Jalen Milroe? If they do, the most likely candidate is their outstanding linebacker, Whit Weeks. The sophomore leads the SEC in tackles against Power Five teams, at an average per game of 9.67. Alabama football fans may have seen an LSU player named Weeks on LSU's injury report. That is Whit's brother. The LSU defensive star is not injured. Can LSU afford to assign a defender to Milroe, thereby giving less attention to other Alabama offensive threats? Alabama has four defenders in the SEC's top tacklers against Power Five competition; LSU only has two.

The choice for LSU is similar to Alabama's dilemma against LSU quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier. In six games against Power Five teams, LSU has given up four QB sacks. Two came in the loss to Texas A&M. Would it be wise for Kane Wommack to 'go bold' and ramp up heat on Nussmeier or try to get some pressure with just four pass-rushers?

Alabama Football has the better defense

One possible answer is that Alabama's defense is sufficiently better than LSU's defense, so boldness may not be required. Alabama's Stop Rate (drives ending without an opponent score) of 74.7% is better than LSU's at 62.5%. The points per drive allowed numbers favor Alabama more. The Crimson Tide is 1.33 points per drive; LSU is 1.94 points.

For coaches, every game requires strategy decisions similar to a chess game. The outcome on Saturday night may come down to which coaching staff plays football chess best.

Note: Numerous stats in this post were provided by cfbstats.com