The chatter has started and prior to facing LSU on Nov. 9, the University of Alabama has been provided two forms of motivation. First, the Associated Press decided to push the Tigers to the top-ranking in college football over the Crimson Tide and now, players for the Bayou Bengals have started talking about how ‘dominant’ they will be inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Per an article from Glenn Guilbeau of the Lafeyette Daily Advertiser, Justin Jefferson of the Tigers said the team is ‘coming for Alabama’s head.’
RELATED: Saban has no answer for Tua Tagovailoa’s availability for LSU, but he does practice this week
“I mean, there’s nothing much to it,” Jefferson said. “I mean, we owe them. So, we’re going to get to it. They have not seen an offense like us yet.”
Prior to facing Mississippi State and Auburn, LSU averaged 52.5 points per game.
In facing the other Tigers of the Southeastern Conference, LSU was held to 23 points at Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge, La.) and Joe Burrow was sacked three times. Regardless of his also tossing an interception in the matchup, he said LSU is ‘much better’ than what it was last year.
“I think we a lot more explosive,” Burrow said.
Defensively, Alabama is starting to peak at the right time.
It shut down both Tennessee and Arkansas, forcing six turnovers combined. Terrell Lewis, a redshirt junior at outside linebacker, leads the SEC in sacks (six) and has nine tackles for loss with a team-high 12 quarterback pressures. He was a nightmare for Nick Starkel of the Razorbacks as Lewis knocked him down six times – which led to four turnovers.
Trevon Diggs, a senior cornerback, has two defensive touchdowns in two weeks and the Tide rendered both the Volunteers and Razorbacks under 300 yards offensively. Pete Golding, a native of Hammond, La., is taking note of this and will have his group prepare to shut down the Tigers.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
