Alabama football bold predictions for latest SEC test against LSU

It is the First Sunday in November as Alabama hosts LSU on Saturday. It is the 90th meeting between the two schools. Alabama has dominated the series over the last decade, and looks to continue that this week.

LSU has not lived up to expectations this year. After opening the season 4-0, the team fell for the first time on the road against Ole Miss. They would defeat South Carolina next, but then suffer back to back losses to Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. This led to Brian Kelly being fired by LSU prior to the open week before this rivalry game against the Tide.

Meanwhile, Alabama is 7-1 on the season and tied for the top spot in the SEC.  After losing in their first game of the year to Florida State, Alabama has een dominant. The rolled off five ranked wins in a row, with wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee. Still, last time out was a struggle. They needed a comeback victory to defeat South Carolina on the road. The Crimson Tide are also coming in off an open week.

Alabama leads the all-time series 57-27-5. The Tide have won two in a row and 12 of the last 14, including the National Championship in 2012.

Ty Simpson has a Heisman-worthy game

The Alabama offense has been solid this year. They are 17th in the nation in points per game while sitting 40th in yards per game. They have not run well this year, sitting 104th in the nation in rushing yards per game. Still, they are 13th in passing yards per game. Part of the reason for the sucess on offense has been the play of Heisman candidate Ty Simpson. Simpson has passed for 2,184 yards this year with 20 touchdowns, being one of the leaders in the conference in both passing yards and touchdown passes. Further, he has been intercepted just once this year.

Simpson has also passed for over 200 yards in every game this year, while passing for at least two touchdowns. Further, he has passed for over 250 yards in six of his eight games this year. He is playing against a solid LSU pass defense though LSU is 34th against the pass this year, while also sitting 12th in interception percentage.

None of that is going to matter in this one. Simpson is going to have a dominant game. Texas A&M quarrerback Marcel Reed passed for 202 yards with two scores while also running for 102 yards and two scoes agsinst LSU. Simpson is not going to have the same rushing numbers, but he will pass near 300 yards and account for at least three touchdowns, if not four in thisn one.

Justin Jefferson makes one of the game's biggest plays

The LSU offense has struggled this year. They are 100th in the nation in points per game while sitting 103rd in ayrds per game. Further, they are 1221st on the ground, but are 69th through the air. Still, they have had toruble protecting the quarterback this eyar. LSU is 62nd in sack percentage and also 42nd in interception percentage.

Meanwhile, Alabama has been stout on defense this year. They are 16th in the nation in opponent points per game while sitting 19th in oppnet yards per game. They are 63rd against the run, but tenth against the pass. Further, they are 14th in interception rate and 42nd in sack rate.

Garrett Nussmeier was sacked five times in his last game, while also being intercepted five times this year. The big play in this game is going to come from Justin Jefferson. The linebacker lead the team i ntackles, while also having two sacks, a pass break up, an interception, anda force fumble. He is either going to have a big sack on Nussmeier or cause a turnover which is going to lead to more Alabama points in this game.

Alabama scores over 40 for a third straight season

This year, LSU has had some solid games on defense, when they are winning. In the five games this year that the Tigers have won, they have not given up more than ten points in a game. They have given up 24 or more points in each of the three losses. In their last game, they gave up 49 points to Texas A&M at home. This week, they are on the road and against one of their biggest rivals.

Alabama has been solid, but scoring a ton. They have broken the 40-point barrier just once this year, and that was against UL Monroe. They have scored 24 or more points in every since win, but the highest scoring game outside off UL Monroe was against Wisconsin, when they scored 38.

Still, Alabama was ranked fourth in the first College Football Playoff rankings, and may want to add some style points to their resume. Further, Alabama has dominated better LSU teams than the one that will be taking the field on Saturday. Just last year, the team won 42-12 over a 15th ranked LSU team when Alabama was ranked 11th. The year before that, Alabama was ranked eighth and LSU was 14th. Alabama won the game 42-28. Alabama is going to make some massive defensive plays and dominante the game, on their way to scoring over 40 points against LSU for a thrid straight season.