No. 1 Alabama braces for motivated Fournette, No. 15 LSU

The shutout was 19th for Alabama since Nick Saban’s arrival.

No. 22 Oklahoma State (plus 3) at Kansas State: Wildcats Bill Snyder looking for victory No. 199.

The win coupled with Mississippi State’s upset of No. 7 Texas A&M means Auburn can win the SEC West with victories over Georgia and No. 1 Alabama. The Aggies were ranked No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday, but will now nearly certainly tumble out of contention. “He brings that power to the game and brings confidence to all of us.”.

“He’s just a genetic freak and certainly great to have him on your team”, Jeter said.

Initially, this appeared to be a tough game.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Leonard Fournette is absolutely the real deal”, a retired NFL running backs coach said, via College Football 24/7.

But then the Tigers lost to Wisconsin and Auburn.

Will Leonard Fournette get revenge after such a bad showing against Alabama last season?

The Tigers kept a Saban team from scoring in the first half for the first time since 2007, his first year in Tuscaloosa.

Tide freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts has had some mistakes in previous road games but bounced back strong. Etling has not had a game that greatly stands out on the stat sheet, but since Ed Orgeron took over the team he has done a fantastic job of completing passes when asked.

Alabama and LSU have showcased some of the better games in recent memory.

“You have to be ready for him whenever you know the quarterback may get in some trouble when he’s trying to pass the ball, so I’m always ready for the quarterback scramble”, Howard said.

Since Miles was dismissed one day after an offensively inept 18-13 loss at Auburn on September 24, and Orgeron subsequently replaced former offensive coordinator Cam Cameron with Ensminger, who had been the tight ends coach, the Tigers have produced their three most productive offensive games of the season. Alabama smothered Fournette last season and used single coverage outside, blatantly showing the hand of a defensive game plan that invited LSU to throw the ball.

“After that game (last year), it seems like everybody just forgot about him”, Tigers tight end Colin Jeter said, via The Times-Picayune.

But there is an argument for LSU, mostly due to Orgeron’s radical change in approach.

But LSU has played better since firing head coach Les Miles.

As mentioned in the previous section, LSU may need to utilize its passing game to take some of the pressure off of the ground attack and keep the offense out of third-and-long situations.

The victor of Saturday’s primetime game remains in contention for a berth in the Big Ten championship game and a shot at the College Football Playoff while the loser is likely playing for a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game.

“I like the way LSU is playing”. The offense also looked out of synch. “The number is getting a little high”.

Orgeron said the key to the game will be whether the Tigers can get Fournette the football “in some plays that we think he runs very well” and protect quarterback Danny Etling.

“Orgeron has done something”. That’s right, I said Samford. Combine the crowd and the players rallying around Orgeron, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see LSU jump out to an early lead. A team usually is starved for inspiration at that point, and a guy like Orgeron can deliver that.

Saban will show if LSU’s resurgence is phony. Ole Miss is 30-1-2 against teams now in the Sun Belt, 4-0 under coach Hugh Freeze. This schedule is not as appealing, so I’ll be conservative. The associated moneylines are Alabama -300 and LSU +250.