Jackson Jambalaya

It's #1 versus #3:





Sports Illustrated  published a thorough story about the rivalry Ross Dellenger (the husband of Elizabeth Crisp) today:

 The real war between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide is fought not at a bloated stadium on game day, but during the other 364 days of the year, in theaters like this—inside a three-bedroom trailer in rural south Louisiana, where at stake is one of the nation’s most decorated players from a region that Orgeron is trying to protect and Saban is trying to pillage. “That recruiting is … woooo!” says longtime college defensive line coach Pete Jenkins, 77, who has worked under both Saban and Orgeron. “Recruiting is as much a part of the rivalry as Saturday night is going to be.”

 LSU and Alabama are embroiled in the most vicious school-on-school recruiting war the country has seen in the past decade, says Barton Simmons, a national recruiting expert for 247Sports. It is an eternal struggle for elite talent that Jenkins admits drove him into retirement. Their most heated fights unfold in what Simmons refers to as the “battleground state” of Louisiana, bitter heavyweight bouts with massive prizes to the victor: five-star prospects to deploy on the first week in November. The result is a pair of programs that churn out more NFL players than any other two college teams, having tied for the nation’s lead in players drafted from 2008 to ’17 (65 each) and ranking first and second in former players on opening-day NFL rosters this season (Alabama with 44 and LSU with 40).

You think their game days are nasty slugfests? You should see them the other 364. Their snooping on one another knows no bounds....

Meanwhile, Orgeron has spent his first two seasons preparing his program to win this game. Just this offseason, he replicated Saban’s staffing structure, hiring a deep crew of analysts geared for advanced scouting. He and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger overhauled a run-centric offense that, while bludgeoning less talented foes, had averaged just 10.4 points a game in the last seven duels with the Crimson Tide. It’s all in an effort to topple college football’s unquestioned king and his championship-winning dynasty, to reshape a rivalry that has tilted heavily crimson and white.

Alabama has won seven consecutive games against LSU, the Tide’s longest winning streak in the series since Bear Bryant claimed 11 in a row from 1971 to ’81. The streak lingers over LSU, a dark shadow in the shape of its former coach, who was responsible for the program’s meteoric rise in the early 2000s but has recently brought the Tigers to their knees. “We don’t talk about that. That’s not something that’s discussed,” Orgeron said Monday of the losing skid. “We take it one game at a time, but obviously I think all of us feel it. We understand the importance of beating Alabama at LSU.”

Accomplishing that feat, more than expanding that support staff and overhauling that offense, is done through recruiting, rebuilding what Orgeron says has been LSU’s ultimate deficiency against the Tide: the offensive and defensive lines. “Trenches. Got to win the game in the trenches,” he says.

Alabama has held a firm edge in recruiting the trenches. Over a seven-year stretch, ending with the 2017 recruiting class, Alabama signed four more defensive linemen and three more offensive linemen than LSU. The more glaring numbers are the talent levels. The Tide signed 13 offensive linemen ranked in the top five at their position to LSU’s four and signed 17 defensive linemen ranked in the top 10 at their position to LSU’s 11. In response, Orgeron has stocked up on linemen, signing 11 in last year’s class and signing 10 defensive tackles in the past three classes—more than the school signed in the six previous classes..... Rest of article.

Kingfish note: I expect Bama to win by... at least three touchdowns.  LSU's offense is still coming together and has too many new parts. The OL has had major problems blocking.  The WR's are fairly new and have problems getting separation from the db's.  LSU's D-line has been unable to generate a pass rush all year since Chaisson tore his ACL in the Miami game.  Football is won in the trenches and that will be the difference Saturday night.