It may not be what it once was, but the storied rivalry between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide will see its next chapter be written at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kalen DeBoer and co. will be the only ones carrying a national ranking onto the field, and that’s seemingly enough for oddsmakers to list them as 9.5-point betting favorites.
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Nevertheless, the National Football League’s most premier passer, Patrick Mahomes, believes that the Tigers are still capable of pulling this one off. During a surprise appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay, the Texas Tech product sat down at the desk with the likes of Pat McAfee and Nick Saban to make their official picks, and according to Saban, it’s hard to believe that LSU will be able to make the most of this opportunity.
“It’ll be interesting to see how LSU comes in from a psychological standpoint based on all the distractions they’ve had. This is still a rivalry game because both teams are good, and LSU has a lot of talent, but I think Alabama is going to prevail,” Saban said.
Considering that Alabama and LSU fans, much like siblings, fight over which one of them is Saban’s favorite program, that soundbite will likely sting a bit for those who are back towards the bayou. Although the three-time Super Bowl winner was willing to suggest that this may actually be a “tough game for ‘Bama.”
After McAfee dubbed this matchup the “Nick Saban bowl” and predicted yet another Ty Simpson masterclass, Mahomes pumped the brakes a bit on the Crimson Tide’s hype train by predicting that this one may not be as easy as the point spread suggests.
“I think Bama does come out with the win, but I think there’s going to be a psychological boost for LSU with that new coach coming in. I love Coach Kelly, but sometimes, you play in a rivalry game, everybody thinks you’re down, and you play up to another level. So, it’s going to be a close game, a hard-fought game, but I’ll take Bama,” Mahomes said, agreeing with Saban’s prediction.
In the end, all five analysts at the desk ultimately predicted Alabama to walk away with the victory. It’s a vote of confidence for the Tide, but it’ll also serve as some last-minute bulletin board material for the Tigers, who will absolutely need any and every piece of motivation that they can find should they hope to overcome this one.
Disaster tends to strike whenever all of ESPN’s GameDay analysts are in agreement, but this one looks to be an exception to the rule, as there’s just simply not enough here to prevent that Crimson wave from rolling the Tigers at home here in November.
