In the past 40 seasons, no defending national champion has been as big of an underdog as LSU is this week against top-ranked Alabama.
LSU is a consensus 29.5-point home underdog to the Crimson Tide. The line had grown to -30 at William Hill sportsbooks in Mississippi.
Auburn, in 2011, is the only other team to be a 20-plus-point underdog in a game the season after winning the national championship, according to ESPN Stats and Information. The Tigers failed to cover in three such instances that season, versus Alabama, LSU and Georgia.