Nick Saban identifies what Alabama must avoid against LSU
By David Wasson
Published:
ESPN College GameDay analyst Nick Saban knew both sides of the Alabama-LSU rivalry, having coached LSU to the 2003 national championship and then leading Alabama to 6 national titles in a storied 17-year run in Tuscaloosa before retiring after the 2023 season.
Which makes Saban uniquely qualified to break down Saturday’s Tide-Tigers matchup (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC), which he did Saturday morning on the show by identifying the one thing No. 4 Alabama sought to improve on during the idle week leading up to the clash against LSU.
“(Alabama quarterback) Ty Simpson has played outstanding this year. But the one thing that Alabama really wanted to improve on during this bye week was their ability to run the ball,” Saban said. “They’ve been very inconsistent. They haven’t been able to establish the ground game to go with the pass game. You play LSU, who’s got a really good secondary, you don’t want to be one-dimensional.”
Alabama entered Week 10 ranked second in the SEC and 15th in the country in passing offense at 291.6 yards per game but was 14th in the conference and a woeful 114th in the nation in rushing offense at 118.9 yards per outing. The Tide has only had a single 100-yard rushing effort all season – Jam Miller piling up 136 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown against Vanderbilt on Oct. 4.
LSU, which fired coach Brian Kelly after losing to Texas A&M 49-25 on Oct. 25 to fall out of College Football Playoff contention, ranks fifth in the SEC in pass defense and 10th in the conference in rushing defense.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
