With a much needed bye on the horizon this week, the Alabama Crimson Tide look ahead to Week 11, when they take on the LSU Tigers.
Facing LSU has always been a “circle your calendar” type of game, but this time, it’s a very unique situation facing its program.
Advertisement
The Tigers just fired head coach Brian Kelly after three and a half years proved that he was undoubtedly a terrible fit for their program. Kelly ended his reign as LSU coach with a 34-14 record, 19-10 in conference play, and three meaningless bowl wins.
Given that Alabama has looked like one of the more dominant forces in college football since Week 1, a matchup against a Kelly-coached LSU squad would look quite appetizing for a hungry elephant.
But as a wise man once said, “not so fast my friend.”
Now it’s a totally different dynamic, and it puts Alabama in a similar situation to where it was when it started the season by taking on Florida State and losing 31-17.
Advertisement
After a 2-10 season from the Seminoles last season, they hit the transfer portal heavily and changed the structure of their program, so no one knew what to expect from them during Week 1.
But they did.
And after that game (the first game of the season no less) everyone was ready to write off the Crimson Tide.
Maybe after a bye week and a lot of contemplation, LSU will come out with the same killer mentality that the Seminoles came out with.
Luckily Alabama gets to play this game on home turf, and a duel against a conference rival with nothing to lose and a whole lot of motivation to play spoiler is a scary sight.
Advertisement
Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer often talks about preparation and being ready for anything that may be thrown your way. It’s up there with his heavy use of the word “intentional.”
But nothing will prepare you for a pack of uncaged Tigers.
It’s about bracing yourself for impact and taking whatever your opponent will throw at you.
After all, that’s what happened in Columbia on Saturday, right?
Even though Alabama came out with a 29-22 against South Carolina, the Gamecocks threw everything they had at the Tide, but as our esteemed colleague Brandon Gibson said, “discipline matters.”
While LSU is coming in extra motivated to put a kibosh on the momentum the Tide is building, they’re riding an all-time high in momentum.
Advertisement
“I think our experiences together from last year helped us be able to weather any storm this year,” veteran linebacker Deonte Lawson said after the game. “Especially coming off the Week 1 loss, man, and then fighting back week after week, we know we’re built for any moment. And, you know, we can always find a way to win.”
It’s going to be a lovely week off for the team, but after a week of recovery, both physically and mentally, it’s back to work.
