LSU/Alabama is the Most Important SEC Regular Season Game Ever
Posted on November 2, 2011 by Jacob Bunn
It has never happened in the seventy-nine year history of the Southeastern Conference. It has happened elsewhere but never in the SEC. It is hard to believe it has never occurred, especially when you think about how much success the SEC has had since the institution of the Bowl Championship Series. Saturday night, for the first time in an SEC regular season, it will happen, and there will be no mistaking it.
Of course, I am referring to a matchup between the top two ranked teams in the nation. LSU and Alabama have solidified themselves as the class of the nation in both the Associated Press Poll and the BCS Standings.
The hype for this epic contest feels a lot like what was experienced in 2008 and 2009 with the two Alabama/Florida SEC Championship Games. In both of those matchups, the two teams were ranked as the top two in the country. The ’08 version was a close game well into the fourth quarter when Tim Tebow took control of the game and led the Gators to victory. The 2009 edition was dominated by Alabama from the outset.
The 2006 Michigan at Ohio State game was another similar event to what Saturday night will be like. In addition to being a fierce rivalry between the two teams, both of them were in the top two in the BCS Standings. So, it was largely considered a national semifinal. Some even believed, at the time, that there should be a rematch between the two in the BCS Championship Game. Ohio State won the game against the Wolverines before getting pummeled by Florida in the BCS Championship Game.
Those are just a few recent examples of the top two teams squaring off in a non-BCS Championship Game.
The script for this game will be written Saturday night at just after 7 P.M. CT on CBS. The television network negotiated last week to change the time of the game from the normal afternoon start to a special primetime slot.
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said he spends most of his time on game days in the ‘command center,’ his office in downtown Birmingham. He added that he will not be in the command center Saturday night when Alabama plays LSU. Presumably, Slive will be doing what every national scribe claims they will be doing, which is sitting in the press box at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
As the college football universe prepares to descend upon the city of Tuscaloosa, AL, many across the nation have been pointing to this game for quite some time. Both LSU and Alabama have been blowing out their competition to this point.
The comparison of the two teams has been discussed from coast to coast for nearly two weeks. The honest truth is, though, that these two teams are very similar in style and talent, so it will probably be something else that decides the game. I think that something else will be sheer will to win. Whichever of the two teams is readier for the competition, handles it with moderation, and wants the victory more will be successful.
The two coaches are another interesting aspect of the upcoming contest. Nick Saban, the head coach of Alabama, coached LSU for several years before leaving the program in 2004 to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. When he returned to college football as the coach of the Crimson Tide, one of LSU’s biggest rivals, Tiger fans were not pleased. They expressed their displeasure with the situation when Saban returned to Baton Rouge for the first time as the coach of Alabama in 2008.
The man who took over for Nick Saban at LSU is Les Miles. The sometimes goofy and oftentimes charming protégé of Bo Schembechler has built a formidable resume for himself. Since Miles took the reins of the program, LSU has won a BCS Championship, SEC Championship, and has won the SEC West twice. Every year, it seems, he has his team in contention for the SEC title and ranked highly in the BCS. And every year, the game against Alabama becomes the most important contest of the year for him and his team.
In last year’s game in Baton Rouge, Miles used a reverse play on a fourth down and short that worked brilliantly and secured LSU’s victory over the highly touted Tide. In the 2008 and 2009 games, there were instances when Saban called plays that were risks but ultimately locked up victory.
Both coaches will have their top game plans ready for the big matchup. Both of them know what is at stake, and neither wants to end up on the short end when the clock reads 0:00. The coaches, though, will not be playing the game between the white lines. But let me assure you, the players on each side reflect the aforementioned sentiments of their coaches.
In a normal year, this game has a ton of impact on the winner of the SEC West, which is considered by most to be the preeminent division in college football. This year, though, it means much more than that. The winner of this game has a very simple road to get to the SEC Championship Game, and do so without suffering a defeat.
So, here we are three days from the epic contest to take place about fifty miles to my immediate west. Relieve your calendar of any planned activities for Saturday evening. Prepare for the best the SEC has to offer; it is, after all, the top two teams in the BCS standings squaring off.
The ratings for Saturday evening’s game will be extremely high, especially if it is a close game throughout. But, whatever they are will not be a true reflection of the number of people watching the game.
Opposite LSU/Alabama is the South Carolina/Arkansas game, which on a normal week would be the game of the week because it is between two teams in the BCS top ten. But on Saturday night, I imagine even Razorback and Gamecock fans will be changing the channel in-between plays so they can watch the most important SEC regular season game in history.
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Email Jacob at jacob@bunnsports.com and follow him on Twitter at @JacobBunn
