#1 LSU @ #2 Alabama | ESPN America | Midnight

Peyton Manning

@

#1 LSU Tigers (8-0, 5-0 SEC)

#2 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 SEC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq_Ac9I5lUM

This isn't just the first time #1 has faced #2 in half a decade - this is being built up as the biggest college football game in, well, forever. The top 2 teams in the country, 2 of the best defences college football has ever seen, 2 blockbuster coaches, NFL prospects aplenty and above all else - 2 fierce rival teams - who are we to argue? I know we have a dedicated college football thread, but if any game at this level deserves its own thread, then this showdown certainly does.


The Road to Tuscaloosa



Week One
#3 Oregon 27 vs LSU 40
Kent State 7 @ Alabama 48

Week Two
Northwestern State 3 @ LSU 49
Alabama 27 @ #23 Penn State 11

Week Three
LSU 19 @ #25 Mississippi State 6
North Texas 0 @ Alabama 41

Week Four
LSU 47 @ #16 West Virginia 21
#14 Arkansas 14 @ Alabama 38

Week Five
Kentucky 7 @ LSU 35
Alabama 38 @ #12 Florida 10

Week Six
#17 Florida 11 @ LSU 41
Vanderbilt 0 @ Alabama 34

Week Seven
LSU 38 @ Tennessee 7
Alabama 52 @ Ole Miss 7

Week Eight
#20 Auburn 10 @ LSU 45
Tennessee 6 @ Alabama 37

Week Nine
LSU - Bye Week
Alabama - Bye Week


The Key Men



Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama: Almost 1,000 rushing yards, 200 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns on the year so far, Richardson is regarded by many as the finest running back NFL prospect since Adrian Peterson. He's big, he's as tough as they come, he's lightning fast with incredible acceleration and he always falls forward - Richardson will be near the very top of many NFL teams' draft boards. Weaknesses? You tell me, because I can't see any. He is simply sensational and could be the difference maker today.



Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU: How do you replace a cornerback like Patrick Peterson? Well, simple - you hand the reins over to a sophomore CB with a badass nickname like The Honey Badger. Mathieu is the best player on the #1 ranked team in the country, and that says it all. In his one and a half years in LSU, Mathieu has racked up over 100 tackles, 6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 4 interceptions. Athletic and aggresive, Mathieu just has the aura and swagger of a superstar. The Honey Badger is the real deal - target him at your peril.


Team Statistics

Points Per Game
Alabama 39.4 (12th in nation)
LSU 39.3 (13th in nation)

Points Against Per Game
Alabama 6.9 (1st in nation)
LSU 11.5 (2nd in nation)

Passing Yards Per Game
Alabama 228.4 (63rd in nation)
LSU 183.1 (98th in nation)

Rushing Yards Per Game
Alabama 229.3 (14th in nation)
LSU 189.0 (33rd in nation)


Random Facts

Although the spread has moved from Alabama -4 to Alabama -5, 75% of the money in Vegas has been on LSU.
Nobody has come within 13 points of either team all season.
LSU won their 4 October SEC games by a combined score of 159-35. Three of those opponents have been national champions in the last 12 years.
In the second halves of their last 6 games, Alabama has outscored their opponents 142-7. They haven't allowed a single point in the second half of their last 4 games.
Tickets for seats at the 50 yard line for this game are selling at over $1,000 a pop.
Alabama have been besieged by requested from NFL and NBA superstars for tickets for this game.
The best #1 vs #2 game of all time is unanimously thought of as Oklahoma 35-31 Nebraska back in 1971.

Tuscaloose, Alabama.

The band at Galette's mashed up Werewolves of London with Sweet Home Alabama because, what the hell? Everything goes with Sweet Home Alabama. The blonde student outside the bar admitted her anxiety level had skyrocketed as the week barreled toward its conclusion. Not because of any test or paper, mind you, but for a reason she thought should be obvious to anyone.

"This is the biggest game of the season," she said.

The Game of the Year. The Game of the Century. The Game of the Millennium. The Game of the Year of the Century of the Millennium.

If you live above the Mason-Dixon Line or west of the Mississippi, you've gagged on hyperbole by now. You get it. LSU and Alabama will play a football game Saturday. LSU and Alabama have excellent football teams, so good that they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, by just about anyone who puts college football teams in order. LSU's coach is a bit quirky. Alabama's coach is a bit stern. But at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, most of you will click off the television and move on with your lives. Your world will keep spinning.

For the blonde outside the bar, the world will stop -- if only momentarily -- if Alabama loses. For the guy in purple who hoisted the LSU flag from his RV on Thursday, the drive home to Louisiana will feel months long if the Tigers lose.

These people have real problems. Most of them -- except possibly for a handful of the more frequent callers to Paul Finebaum's radio show -- do not lack perspective. (Anyone who needs more perspective can stand at the corner of McFarland Boulevard and 15th Street, look left and right, and see where the April tornado turned a half-mile wide swath of civilization into a giant field of nothing.) But for this weekend, they will voluntarily set aside their real-world concerns and disappear into a universe where only this game matters. The team that wins will have the inside track on the national title. The team that loses will be an utter failure -- unless it can somehow sneak back into the national title race.

For a significant portion of the populations of Alabama and Louisiana, this game will mean everything, even if only for a weekend. And that's OK.

Go ahead and laugh if you want at the Southerners making too much out of a football game again. That's fine.

We're used to getting laughed at. When I was seven, I moved from Columbia, S.C., to Key Largo, Fla. The other kids heard my twang and thought I'd arrived from another planet. In middle school, a classmate identified my dad, who taught at the school, as the teacher who "talked country." In college, a fellow staffer at the student newspaper informed me that "some hick lady" had called asking for me. I picked up the phone and heard the voice of my mother, who left this world holding twice as many college degrees as the guy who couldn't appreciate the native accent of Alabama's Dallas County.

You make fun of what we eat, but that's probably because you don't know the proper proportions of salt, pepper and butter that turn grits from flavorless mush into the breakfast of champions. You make fun of the fact that we lost the Civil War, even though none of us had a hand in fighting it. A popular refrain since the SEC took ownership of major college football's national title on Jan. 8, 2007 is that Southerners are attempting to retroactively vacate Union Army victories every time an SEC team whips someone in the BCS title game. That simply isn't true. When Southerners chant S-E-C, it has nothing to do with Robert E. Lee.

It has everything to do with the fact that Southerners care more about football than anyone else, and at the moment two teams from the South happen to be playing football better than anyone else. Don't believe people here care more? Ask yourself this: How many blondes will stand outside a Palo Alto bar next Thursday and fret about whether Stanford's linebackers can tackle Oregon tailback Kenjon Barner in space?

Sure, people here have more important things to worry about. But when an Alabaman gets angry at LSU tight end DeAngelo Peterson for calling Alabama's linebackers "kind of slow and big," it takes his mind off the heavier stuff for a few minutes. When people in Louisiana stop what they're doing to watch LSU coach Les Miles sit on a tiger print chair next to Erin Andrews and discuss how much caffeine he needs to properly plan to attack Alabama's defense, it gives them a break from the grind. The potential joy -- and even the potential pain -- of Saturday night somehow makes everything else easier to bear.

So it's all right if smart people with important jobs spent part of their week wondering whether Alabama tailback Trent Richardson can break through LSU's beastly defensive line and into the linebacker corps, which, had an Alabama player done some analogous trash-talking, would have been described as "kind of fast and small." It's OK if they wonder whether LSU receiver Reuben Randle can get open against an Alabama secondary that includes four potential first-round draft picks.

Maybe Alabama coach Nick Saban will design the perfect game plan, and the Crimson Tide, who have their own mental conditioning coach, will focus completely and execute that plan perfectly. Maybe LSU coach Les Miles will reach down, pinch a few blades of grass and stuff them in his mouth before the Tigers run a fourth-down trick play to win the game. Either way, the anticipation is half the thrill. The other half will come Saturday, when the voice of a dead man called Bear growls and Bryant-Denny Stadium roars and two teams storm the field to decide who rules college football.

By next week, it probably won't be The Game of the Year of the Century of the Millennium anymore. But at least until 11:30 Saturday night, it will be.

And that's all that matters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3qS5of_9eI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__0A6tZJjSI

Jimmy Iovine

I'll probably watch this if I'm not heading out tonight. Have never really followed college ball but I'm a sucker for "game of the millenniums".

jester1980

Cant wait for this, hopefully be a great game.

Peyton Manning

Quote of the day has to go to Lee Corso, who described this as a meeting between two schoolyard bullies, and come tonight, one of them is going to have all the lunch money, and the other will be left with nothing but lint in his pockets.

That's just poetry

Paully D

Only getting into American Football this year, but I'm really looking forward to this!

padraig_f

Nice preview, I'm glad you put 'midnight' in the title because, with it being listed at 8pm ET, I was going to tune in at 1am.

Cam Newton wrote: »

Although the spread has moved from Alabama -4 to Alabama -5, 75% of the money in Vegas has been on LSU.

Probably more accurate to say that 75% of the tickets have been on LSU. When the ticket count and the line-move contradict each other like this, it's a good indication of where the sharp money has gone. Because the line has moved with the 25% of tickets on Alabama, you can deduce that the sharps, or people betting larger amounts, are on Alabama, while the public, or people betting smaller amounts, are on LSU.

So not knowing anything much about either team, I'll put my rooting-interest bet on Alabama.

Paully D

Peyton Manning

If only that weren't fake

I would destroy her for all of the 10 seconds I would last.

Jimmy Iovine

Fúck it why does that have to be fake. If I was on the LSU team I'd probably do my best to let Alabama win if them pictures were on the line.

Itssoeasy

I've been an American football fan since the '99 Eagles and wathed both the nfl and college ball until nasn went away and kept in touch of who won what BUT its not the same as watching it. So I'm back in the loop with espn and espn America.

Really really looking forward to this game. Im recording it in case I fall asleep.

Paully D

Cam Newton wrote: »

If only that weren't fake

I would destroy her for all of the 10 seconds I would last.

We can team up then and give her the best 15 seconds of her life. I bagsy the front, you can take the back :pac:

tallaghtoutlaws

That chap holding the page wouldn't know what to do with Taylor Swift if it were real. The song Jizz in my pants comes to mind

basillarkin

any link for the game?

Peyton Manning

basillarkin wrote: »

any link for the game?

Keep an eye on VIPBox - should be some links popping up closer to kickoff.

Jimmy Iovine

What are the chances that it'll live up to it's billing as the game of the century and all that? I've been let down so many times over the years in golf, hurling and soccer that I don't think I can take another disappointment.

I've never really seen hype like this about a game that's not a Superbowl or World Cup final. I did a search on Google news and 2917 results came up. Pretty impressive.

Peyton Manning

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

What are the chances that it'll live up to it's billing as the game of the century and all that? I've been let down so many times over the years in golf, hurling and soccer that I don't think I can take another disappointment.

I've never really seen hype like this about a game that's not a Superbowl or World Cup final. I did a search on Google news and 2917 results came up. Pretty impressive.

Depends what type of game your expecting - it's not going to be a shootout like Baylor - TCU earlier in the year, or even Notre Dame - Michigan, but if you like defensive battles and games where it's as much about the battle of minds between the coaches, then I think you'll really enjoy this.

The atmosphere should be unlike anything we've ever seen, as these games usually take place in NFL stadiums or Bowl Games where there are more neutrals, and a 50-50 split of fans. Home advantage usually doesn't come into it, but this is Alabama's stomping ground and it's going to be absolutely fierce.

I say Alabama win it 20-17. I just can't wait to see how LSU handle Trent Richardson, because they could well stack the box with 8-9 men to stop him, such is the talent of their cornerbacks.

Paully D

Richardson seems the real deal then. Will he be in the upcoming NFL draft at the end of the season?

Peyton Manning

Paully D wrote: »

Richardson seems the real deal then. Will he be in the upcoming NFL draft at the end of the season?

He could come back for his senior year if he wanted, but I can't imagine him doing so. His stock is as high as it will ever be, and there's no running back in the country that can touch him. If he waited until next year, there's always the chance he could be competing with Marcus Lattimore (the second coming of Walter Payton ). It's not definite that he'll be in the 2012 draft, but I reckon it's as good as.

Paully D

Cam Newton wrote: »

He could come back for his senior year if he wanted, but I can't imagine him doing so. His stock is as high as it will ever be, and there's no running back in the country that can touch him. If he waited until next year, there's always the chance he could be competing with Marcus Lattimore (the second coming of Walter Payton ). It's not definite that he'll be in the 2012 draft, but I reckon it's as good as.

Interesting, cheers for that. Do you think he could be the most highly sought player after Luck then, or who should I be looking for? Give me your top 5 draft picks for 2012 draft

eagle eye

They really are bigging up this game. I don't get this 'game of the century' tag at all. Florida vs Alabama for the SEC championship a couple of years back was just as big if not bigger and there have been many of them.

Jimmy Iovine

Cam Newton wrote: »

Depends what type of game your expecting - it's not going to be a shootout like Baylor - TCU earlier in the year, or even Notre Dame - Michigan, but if you like defensive battles and games where it's as much about the battle of minds between the coaches, then I think you'll really enjoy this.

The atmosphere should be unlike anything we've ever seen, as these games usually take place in NFL stadiums or Bowl Games where there are more neutrals, and a 50-50 split of fans. Home advantage usually doesn't come into it, but this is Alabama's stomping ground and it's going to be absolutely fierce.

I say Alabama win it 20-17. I just can't wait to see how LSU handle Trent Richardson, because they could well stack the box with 8-9 men to stop him, such is the talent of their cornerbacks.

Well I'm trying to keep my mind open to anything in this game and to keep my expectations in check. It'll be my first college game to watch. No better game to lose my virginity to I suppose.

Gonna be kinda real strange watching guys like that Richardson chap, most of whom are probably younger than me. When I was their age in college I was out drinking cans of Druids and trying and mostly failing to chat up young ones, not playing in front of 80,000 people. Unreal to think of it.

Peyton Manning

Paully D wrote: »

Interesting, cheers for that. Do you think he could be the most highly sought player after Luck then, or who should I be looking for? Give me your top 5 draft picks for 2012 draft

Not really, running backs aren't really a priority in drafts unless there's undoubted talent and almost a guarantee of success. There's always loads of choice in that position, and it's easier to fill than other areas on the field. Having said that, I think he'll almost certainly be a top 10 pick because he is that good.

My own top 5 (baring in mind we don't know who will be picking at what position yet) would be:

1. Andrew Luck
2. Matt Barkley

...with 3, 4 and 5 being any combination of Matt Kalil, Jonathan Martin, Justin Blackmon, Vontaze Burfict and Morris Claiborne depending on the teams!

Peyton Manning

eagle eye wrote: »

They really are bigging up this game. I don't get this 'game of the century' tag at all. Florida vs Alabama for the SEC championship a couple of years back was just as big if not bigger and there have been many of them.

It is getting out of control, but I'd put that down to two things - they're both off of bye weeks so there's been 2 weeks of anticipation, and more important - it's the south. It's Alabama and Louisiana. College football is religion down there!

Paully D

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Gonna be kinda real strange watching guys like that Richardson chap, most of whom are probably younger than me. When I was their age in college I was out drinking cans of Druids and trying and mostly failing to chat up young ones, not playing in front of 80,000 people. Unreal to think of it.

It's something I've always said to people as well. It's unreal isn't it? College over here consists of beer, beer and more beer whilst trying to scrape through exams, whilst over there if you're an athlete you're treated as an absolute hero playing on basically a world stage every week.

Man, I'd love to be American :pac:

Paully D

I have ESPN America on now but they seem to be showing South Carolina V Arkansas

Peyton Manning

Paully D wrote: »

I have ESPN America on now but they seem to be showing South Carolina V Arkansas

Just killing time until the big one starts. It's at commercials now, yeah?

Paully D

Cam Newton wrote: »

Just killing time until the big one starts. It's at commercials now, yeah?

Unfortunately not, they're still showing this Arkansas game. I think I might have the wrong stream even though it says ESPN America :pac:

Jimmy Iovine

Paully D wrote: »

It's something I've always said to people as well. It's unreal isn't it? College over here consists of beer, beer and more beer whilst trying to scrape through exams, whilst over there if you're an athlete you're treated as an absolute hero playing on basically a world stage every week.

Man, I'd love to be American :pac:

Dunno if I'd be able to stay off the drink long enough. I suppose the fact that every girl in the college would be willing to throw themselves at you would make up for that though. I'm sure you'd be able to have threesomes every night of the week :pac:.

barbarians

Anybody have a working link please ?

Peyton Manning

Oh I thought you meant on TV. Well, it hasn't kicked off yet so it might change over when it kicks off.

Here's a link http://www.vipbox.tv/watch/15738/1/ncaafoncbs:-1lsu-vs-2alabama.html

You might be able to find better if you look around I'd say.

basillarkin

http://www.firstrowsports.tv/watch/90389/1/watch-lsu-vs-alabama.html

davetherave

Paully D wrote: »

Unfortunately not, they're still showing this Arkansas game. I think I might have the wrong stream even though it says ESPN America :pac:

Try this one
http://web.zone.ee/eststrompl/

Paully D

Cam Newton wrote: »

Oh I thought you meant on TV. Well, it hasn't kicked off yet so it might change over when it kicks off.

Here's a link http://www.vipbox.tv/watch/15738/1/ncaafoncbs:-1lsu-vs-2alabama.html

You might be able to find better if you look around I'd say.

Cheers mate. That stream is fine and I'll have a look around in a bit. Can't wait for this now

Peyton Manning

You know what, I've predicted an Alabama win, but fúck it...

Lets Go Tigers!!!!

Sorry, I gotta go with the Honey Badger :D:D

Paully D

Brilliant stuff with the links, thanks all

barbarians

Thanks for the links lads.

Let's go Tigers!!!!!!!!!!!

Jimmy Iovine

100,000? Unreal attendance. Can't wait for this now. I've been sucked in by the hype.

Peyton Manning

It's a sell out. 101,821 people in attendance. Ridiculous!

davetherave

I'm going to go with Alabama by 4

Some stadium they have there all the same

barbarians

Literally, that is unbelievable.

A 100,000 sell out to see a college match, you'd get barely a few dozen people for a college G.A.A. match and only 80,000 for the All-Ireland final.

Unreal.

eagle eye

I'm on LSU pretty big tonight.

basillarkin

I could only afford 50 on lsu +5.5. could come down to which team has the better kicker

davetherave

Cam Newton wrote: »

It's a sell out. 101,821 people in attendance. Ridiculous!

You could probably add another thousand on to that between staff, band, security etc.

Peyton Manning

eagle eye wrote: »

I'm on LSU pretty big tonight.

Spread or money line?

Also, you know the way you think Oklahoma State could go toe to toe with one of these two? You might just get your wish. Oklahoma seem like the only team who can stop State going undefeated, and it's just been breaking news that Ryan Broyles tore his ACL. He's out for the year.

Paully D

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Dunno if I'd be able to stay off the drink long enough. I suppose the fact that every girl in the college would be willing to throw themselves at you would make up for that though. I'm sure you'd be able to have threesomes every night of the week :pac:.

Yep, it'd be unreal. Banging cheerleaders every night of the week :pac:

Peyton Manning

Dont'a Hightower is unreal

Also, that 18 yard rush by Trent Richardson on his first carry? Equalled the longest run Oregon had against LSU in 82 snaps.

tallaghtoutlaws

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Dunno if I'd be able to stay off the drink long enough. I suppose the fact that every girl in the college would be willing to throw themselves at you would make up for that though. I'm sure you'd be able to have threesomes every night of the week :pac:.

College players drink on weekends dude even during the football season. After games and on Sundays. And they bang hot chicks well some of them do haha

Peyton Manning

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

College players drink on weekends dude even during the football season. After games and on Sundays. And they bang hot chicks well some of them do haha

Yeeeeah brah!

eagle eye

Cam Newton wrote: »

Spread or money line?

Also, you know the way you think Oklahoma State could go toe to toe with one of these two? You might just get your wish. Oklahoma seem like the only team who can stop State going undefeated, and it's just been breaking news that Ryan Broyles tore his ACL. He's out for the year.

I split the stake in two and went half and half on both.

And the Cowboys are up 14-zip already.

Paully D

This atmosphere is unreal. I've got to admit, I'm beginning to like this sport more and more every week!

Peyton Manning

He was never going to make that field goal, but I guess when you have a defence like Alabama do, you don't mind giving them that field position.