[caption id="attachment_306" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Les Miles squares off again against Nick Saban"]
[/caption]After a long, tumultous offseason for the LSU Fighting Tigers, the dawn has finally arrived. The No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide finally roll into Baton Rouge for the annual November showdown between these two SEC powerhouses. The Tigers look to avenge their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Tide in last season's BCS title rematch, while Alabama hopes to add another dominating performance to their impressive season. Here's a look at five keys to the Tigers pulling off the upset under the Saturday night lights in Death Valley:
1. Make the Tide Defense Respect the Pass
Simply put, if Zach Mettenberger can't convert on some obvious passing downs, this game will closely resemble Jan. 9. One of the key strategies employed by a Nick Saban-coached defense is to take away the opposition's best plays. For LSU, this would largely involve the Tigers' powerful running game. Mettenberger has struggled with accuracy in the last three games, and has never really gotten on track this season, from a rhythm standpoint. Against the suffocating Tide defense, the LSU signal caller has to step up and make some throws downfield, which will force the Bama safeties to stay back and play honest.
2. Don't Abandon the Run
LSU possesses one of the nation's most dominant rushing attacks, and rotates a stable of bruising, punishing running backs. With 275-pound fullback JC Copeland leading him through holes, freshman Jeremy Hill has established himself as LSU's most dangerous threat on offense. When the going gets tough running the ball, LSU can't wholly abandon it. Being one-dimensional either way against Alabama, whether running or passing, is playing right into the hands of the Tide defense.
3. Put Hits on Alabama Quarterback AJ McCarron
The key here is hits. Not mere pressure, but hard, grown man hits. McCarron leads the nation in pass efficiency, and astonishingly has not thrown a single interception all season. A big reason for that can be attributed to the fact that the dominating Bama offensive line does not put him in error-inducing positions. With fierce pass rushers Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo flying off the edges, the Tigers must hit the Alabama signal caller hard, and they must hit him often. If they can do this, that crucial mistake will eventually come.
4. Make a Big Play on Special Teams
This is an area where the Tigers excelled last season, and was a huge factor in their 9-6 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa last November. While the overall special teams play has not been horrible this year, the Tigers have failed to deliver the dazzling plays that made this unit truly special a year ago. With these two incredible defenses dueling it out, LSU punter Brad Wing and kicker Drew Alleman may have a lot to say about the outcome of this game.
5. Match the Tide's Physicality for Four Quarters
Physical, hard-nosed play is the definite calling card of this LSU team. But, before trademarking this style of play, the Tigers can look at the Tide and see a mirror image - a more offensively-consistent mirror image. If the Tigers can make the Tide respect their passing game, then the game will boil down to this last key. It will be a brutal slugfest, and LSU will have to stand in and trade blow for blow with Alabama for a full four quarters. Not three, and not three and a half.
For the past nine months, this is the moment the LSU Tigers, and their fans, have been waiting for. After factoring in all the matchups, strategies, and X's and O's, the game will boil down to the last key - physical toughness. One of these teams will simply out-will the other.
In his pre-game speech, perhaps LSU coach Les Miles can take a page from Notre Dame coach Dan Devine in the film "Rudy," and sternly inform his team that "No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house, and pushes us around." Whether his players will follow this command is yet to be determined.
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