SEC Showdown - LSU Tigers Vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

One of the marquee college football games from Week 10 of the 2009 season will be between two teams who are ranked in the top ten in the country; the LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Crimson Tide will enter this rivalry contest with an undefeated 8-0 season on the line as they face the LSU Tigers, who have won two straight since their loss to the Florida Gators.

Last year when these two teams met in Baton Rouge, the Crimson Tide were able to secure a 27 - 21 overtime win over the Tigers. Can Alabama's head coach Nick Saban earn a second consecutive victory or will LSU' head coach Les Miles be able to continue the trend of LSU victories in recent years.

The Crimson Tide will have something to prove to the pollsters this weekend after being skipped by Texas in the polls and subsequently the BCS. Their offense led by Greg McElroy is made up of a dominant running game paired with a consistent passing game.

Running back Mark Ingram leads the Tide with 1,004 rushing yards and eight touchdowns through the first eight games of the season. His 6.6 yards per carry is the third highest in the SEC with backs who have run for 300 yards or more.

While Alabama may not have a dominant passing game, they do share the ball well. Four players on the team have at least 15 receptions for 185 yards and 1 touchdown.

Their defense is near the top when it comes to fewest points allowed. Through eight games, they have only give up 11.4 per game, which is fifth best in the nation. Led by Rolando McClain, this defense is solid from the line to the secondary and will give LSU some problems.

If Alabama is able to come away with a dominant performance, they may find a way to jump back into the number two spot. Otherwise they will need to wait until the SEC championship game.

The Tigers own a 7-1 record and have managed to keep themselves in the race for the SEC championship despite what has been labeled as an off year by some.

The strength, if it can be called that, of the Tigers offense this season has been the passing game, led by quarterback Jordan Jefferson who has completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,421 yards with 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. His favorite target is wide receiver Brandon LaFell who has hauled in 37 receptions for 478 yards with 8 scores.

A big area of concern for the Tigers has to be the inability to run the ball effectively. Their leading rusher has 459 yards for the season and the team is ranked ninth out of twelve teams in the conference.

The key to a LSU victory will be if the Tigers can take the home crowd out of it and force the issues with the Tide's defense with the hopes of Jordan being able to spread the defense.

In the end, Alabama will be too much for LSU and will earn their ninth victory of the season.

Resources

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football