Fournette ‘most motivated guy’ to face Tide

Have you heard about the best one of them all?

Trap games for Auburn, Texas A&M? The Tigers fans are the loudest in the nation when the opposing team has the ball.

Fournette set the LSU record for rushing yards in a game with 284 in the Tigers’ last game on October 22 – a 38-21 win over Ole Miss. “But you know what, when we walk in that stadium Saturday night, it’s not going to be about that, it’s going to be about getting our cleats in the grass, playing fundamentals, taking care of the football”.

Players know it, too. Fournette’s night in Tuscaloosa previous year is well-documented: He ran for 31 yards on 19 carries, a 1.6-yard average and a performance that knocked him from the top rung of Heisman Trophy favorites. This should be a close hard fought game as LSU is by far the most talented team on paper in the SEC behind Alabama.

It’s also why many in college football are rooting for Coach O to get the LSU job.

So that’ll be an area for attention as No. 1 Alabama heads to Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday. The good news is that guys like Jonathan Allen (6-3, 291), Dalvin Tomlinson (6-3, 305), and DaRon Payne (6-2, 319) are still big enough, and they are in better condition to play more downs. He had an interception return for a touchdown this season and two punt returns for touchdowns and finished the season with 24 tackles, including 2.5 for losses.

LSU coach Ed Orgeron said he has “visions” of something similar happening to LSU quarterback Danny Etlling. “Good hip flexibility, great hands, very well-coached, plays with a motor”. “It’s going to be a challenge”.

Playing on the edge, both K.J. Malone and Maea Teuhema have seen more athletic edge rushers and have allowed more pressures and hits as a result, but they have still held up well this season.

The Crimson Tide stymied Fournette in their 30-16 win last season, holding him to 31 yards on 19 rushes. Now the Tigers have to go out Saturday night and prove themselves.

The Tigers aren’t the only ones struggling against the unbeaten Tide. Hurts has passed for 1,578 yards and 12 touchdowns through the team’s first eight games while also rushing 95 times for 521 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns. Alas, LSU (13-0 SEC champions) had to play Alabama (11-1 SEC West runner-up) in the BCS national championship game, and the Tide prevailed this time, 21-0.

As is nearly always the case on the first weekend in November, the big game in the Southeastern Conference (and often time biggest in the nation) is Alabama vs. LSU. They’re stronger. They’re stouter.

“We have a strict regimen of things that we do to keep them focused”, Orgeron said. “It’s something that’s tough to beat when a team is like that”. Saban was asked how much of a role Orgeron’s personality has played in rallying the “undefeated” Tigers. The Tigers must win them on the front line, something they failed to do a season ago.

October 15, 2016: LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron during the game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. against the LSU Tigers defeat Southern Miss Golden Eagles 45-10. They were shoved into the backfield so hard that they bumped into the ball carrier. “We beat Notre Dame, and he won the Heisman (in 2002)”. “It’s going to be protection first”. Clapp even said this year’s game provides a “little better matchup” with the Tide. “He watches a lot of film, so a lot of times out there on the field, he can see something before it happens”. They’ve executed really well, haven’t made a lot of mistakes. “I guess that’s going to help us”.

The Tide’s depth on the defensive line is another part of this tale.