The SEC is normally known for low-scoring games and stifling defenses, and there are still plenty of those to go around in 2019.

However, the landscape of college football has changed, and two of the conference’s best teams — Alabama and LSU — are more focused on spread offenses these days.

On “The College Football Podcast with Herbie and Pollack” this week, ESPN analyst David Pollack said Alabama and LSU look a lot like Big 12 teams with their wide-open passing games and lack of consistent rushing (via 247Sports):

“I’m just curious who’s going to win the SEC,” Pollack said, “is it going to be a Big 12 team or a SEC team? And I say that because when you look at Alabama, and you look at LSU and you look at their styles of play right now: Lack of running game, throw the ball 30-40 times a game. What are we used to seeing that from?

“This used to be in the Big 12. That’s what they do. Spread the ball all around and throw it all over the yard. (People used to say), ‘You don’t have a run game, so you don’t deserve to be in the conversation among the best teams.’ Well who’s the difference? Georgia. Georgia’s the old-school SEC team. They’re gonna literally line up with two tights, and they’re gonna smash you in the mouth. They make no bones about it that they’re going to be physical with play action off of it.

“Alabama and LSU are pass-first offenses. Completely shifted from what they used to be, so how intriguing is this going to be? We got the Big 12 within the SEC, and it’s going to be really fun.”

We’ve seen some low-scoring games between Alabama and LSU in recent years (including a 9-6 overtime affair back in November of 2011), but when they meet up this season, Pollack said it’ll be weird not to see strong rushing attacks:

“It’s just strange I guess to watch Alabama and LSU not really have a good run game. But both of them are freaky explosive in the pass game, and they’re more than compensating for it.”

Both teams still have time and the talent to improve their rushing attacks once their offensive lines start to jell, so we’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.