00:00But we'll start with a rivalry game, Brian Kelly out in Baton Rouge, Frank Wilson, the new interim coach.
00:06There's been an extra week of preparation for both teams heading into this ballgame.
00:11Alabama's only lost one time, dating back to 2020 at home in Brian Denny.
00:16We've seen them step up against a better competition this season.
00:20They opened up as an 11-and-a-half, 12-point favorite.
00:24Coach, we're seeing 10-and-a-halves in the market.
00:27What can we expect out of LSU, and can they cover this number Saturday night in Tuscaloosa?
00:33Well, you know, first of all, their offense has not been that good, so they will have a different play caller.
00:37Somebody else will be calling the shots.
00:39And we've seen that a lot of these teams who get rid of their coach, they pull together and they play pretty good.
00:45Florida played pretty good.
00:46We saw Virginia Tech play pretty good early.
00:49We saw Arkansas play pretty good.
00:51We've seen these teams play pretty good with this new, just a new positive.
00:55Let's try to circle the wagons and play good together type of attitude.
01:00I think you could see that because defensively, they've played well at LSU.
01:05They can keep this game close.
01:06And I think if they can have a little bit of juice on offense, I think Alabama is a team, like I mentioned earlier, like Georgia.
01:13They can score.
01:14They are solid all over.
01:16But I don't think they dominate you on defense.
01:18They give up some points.
01:19And so I think LSU has a great chance to take the numbers and stay close enough to come out of there at least 10 points or less.
01:31I'm concerned about the offensive line.
01:34I'm concerned about the rushing attack.
01:36And I am concerned about now this mindset, this rivalry game.
01:42Make no mistake about it.
01:43And we talk about the pride of LSU.
01:45And a lot of former players came back.
01:48And I've been watching practice.
01:50But I am concerned now entering this matchup.
01:52What does the offense look like?
01:54Are they going to have more of a commitment to the rushing attack?
01:57And are they looking for a lower-scoring game to go up against Ty Simpson and the Alabama Crimson Tide?
02:03Because if they force this tempo on the road, I think Alabama potentially could put up 30, 35 points on their defense.
02:11And then they could get blown out in this matchup.
02:15Ten and a half points is a huge number.
02:17To your point, we've seen these teams that lose their coaches step up.
02:22Whitwick's still not potentially going to play in this game.
02:25He's the emotional leader.
02:26We saw other teams like Vanderbilt and, obviously, Texas A&M be more physical.
02:32Alabama needs to win out the rest of the way.
02:35There is no margin of error for the Crimson Tide entering this week.
02:40I would say the best bet for me is under the 50 and a half just because I don't know if LSU is built to get into a high-scoring game,
02:49especially with that inconsistent offensive line right now.
02:53No, I've got the under.
02:54I think I'm there with you just as well.
02:56I just think sometimes we read too much into it.
02:59I mean, face it, is LSU's offense going to get worse?
03:02And a lot of times, I won't say this because I've coached and I've had to deal with it,
03:06sometimes it isn't your offensive line.
03:08They don't play well because you don't, they don't line up on their toes.
03:12They line up on their heels because you got them past setting too much.
03:15You don't have them leaning forward.
03:16You don't call the plays.
03:17You don't mix it up well.
03:19You don't work on it on the offseason.
03:21I really don't think always it's just the offensive line.
03:25Sometimes the imagination of the coach, the mix of the pass and the run, you want them to think run when you got pass going.
03:32You want them to think pass when you're going to run the football.
03:34We'll see if that imagination, that little difference can make a difference because they've got a good quarterback.
03:40They've got good talent.
03:41And none of us know exactly why they don't run it as well as they should.
03:46I'm just saying as you get a new guy calling the plays, that can change a lot of things.
03:52I don't think they'll score a lot of points.
03:53I'm with you there.
03:54But I think they can stay close to Alabama and keep this thing at least very interesting.
Comments