{"id":82152,"date":"2025-11-07T14:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T19:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=82152"},"modified":"2025-11-07T08:58:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:58:04","slug":"lsu-seeks-refuge-from-bye-week-at-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/11\/07\/lsu-seeks-refuge-from-bye-week-at-alabama\/","title":{"rendered":"LSU Seeks Refuge from Bye Week at Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ideally, bye weeks serve as strategically placed rest periods after strenuous stretches of play or before big games. For LSU, the upcoming game at Alabama could not come any sooner, considering all that\u2019s transpired since its last game. The unfortunate truth is that the Tigers need a vacation from their vacation.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
First, Texas A&M manhandled LSU so thoroughly in Baton Rouge that former athletic director Scott Woodward fired Brian Kelly<\/a> the day after the game. This was only the beginning of the circus. The LSU Board of Supervisors promptly fired Woodward<\/a> days later after Governor Jeff Landry publicly criticized him.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Recently acquired school president Wade Rousse quickly removed the interim tag from Verge Ausberry on Tuesday, only to backtrack his seemingly rushed statement on the matter the next day. Thursday, Rousse clarified the previously ambiguous decision, declaring that Ausberry would move forward as the full-time athletic director. Now 5-3 with a myriad of off-the-field questions, this LSU team can take over the news cycle with the opportunity to face off against a bitter rival in Alabama.<\/div>\n

LSU Seeks Refuge from Bye Week at Alabama<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t Expect a Warm Welcome<\/h3>\n
Regardless of the state of the programs, the LSU vs. Alabama game is always highly anticipated. This year\u2019s version will be no different. The Playoff Committee rewarded the Crimson Tide with a number four ranking after its impressive hot streak. Alabama has won seven straight after a surprising loss to Florida State in week one. In an age where parity is more prevalent than ever in college football, Alabama hasn\u2019t regularly blown teams away. However, wins don\u2019t come easy, so beating ranked teams in four consecutive weeks should be commended.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Ty Simpson<\/a> has been one of the biggest reasons for the Crimson Tide\u2019s success. Simpson averages 273 passing yards per game, good for second in the SEC. He also has the fourth-best Heisman odds in the country. Not to take away from his accomplishments, but it doesn\u2019t hurt to have two of the conference\u2019s most dangerous receiving threats in Germie Bernard and<\/a> Ryan Williams.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Defensively, Alabama doesn\u2019t have the established stars on the edge that we\u2019ve grown accustomed to seeing annually. But its pass rush has thrived lately with six sacks in the past two games. This is a sound defense with no obvious vulnerabilities at any level. The secondary is outstanding with Domani Jackson<\/a>, Zabien Brown, and 6\u20194\u201d Dijon Lee<\/a> at the cornerback position.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\"LSU
Photo Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

So You\u2019re Saying There\u2019s a Chance<\/h3>\n
Believe it or not, LSU matches up much better against Alabama than it did against Texas A&M. The Tiger defense got off to a torrid start against offenses like Clemson and Florida that were expected to thrive but were eventually exposed as duds. Nonetheless, this is still a vastly improved defense from last year. More importantly, Blake Baker\u2019s defense is not going up against a dual-threat quarterback on Saturday. Simpson is a good athlete, but the odds are against confusing him with Marcel Reed<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The following statistic presents the most prominent sign of the times and evidence of a change in philosophy in Tuscaloosa, Alabama: it is 104th in rushing offense. LSU\u2019s defense has defended the traditional run game well anyway, but the numbers are encouraging. There are no foregone conclusions in college football, and the Tide still has talented backs like Jam Miller<\/a>. Unfortunately, LSU will not have star linebacker Whit Weeks.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In another surprising stat, Alabama is 73rd in rushing defense. Interim head coach Frank Wilson also happens to be LSU\u2019s running back coach, and the days of LSU abandoning the run are likely over in 2025. Wilson has stressed the importance of establishing the run for good reason. Freshman running back Harlem Berry<\/a> averaged nearly seven yards per carry against Texas A&M but only had nine touches. The Tigers\u2019 pass protection woes have been painfully obvious this season. But the best way to protect the quarterback is to avoid obvious passing situations. LSU can and must run effectively.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

What’s at Stake for LSU?<\/h3>\n
Obviously, the season hasn\u2019t played out how the Tigers thought it would, but don\u2019t expect them to go down without a fight. Wilson is a Louisiana native and carries a sense of LSU pride that can\u2019t be manufactured. Expect the players to respond to him with an intensity that hasn\u2019t been common for the team this season. While it\u2019s unlikely that Wilson will get the full-time job, nothing is off the table.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A win in Tuscaloosa would give LSU a realistic shot at going 9-3 in a year that got a coach fired. This could be intimidating for a potential coaching candidate, but it also speaks to the opportunity to win big when 8-4 or 9-3 is considered unacceptable. Three consecutive LSU coaches won national championships before Kelly\u2019s tenure. Despite the off-the-field distractions, there are bright minds in the college football world who would embrace the chance to become the next big winner in Baton Rouge.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Main Photo: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ideally, bye weeks serve as strategically placed rest periods after strenuous stretches of play or before big games. For LSU, the upcoming game at Alabama could not come any sooner, considering all that\u2019s transpired since its last game. The unfortunate truth is that the Tigers need a vacation from their vacation. First, Texas A&M manhandled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4690,"featured_media":82163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,35574,35584,17,3],"tags":[4504,451,33277,34199],"class_list":["post-82152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-alabama-crimson-tide","category-lsu-tigers","category-news","category-sec","tag-blake-baker","tag-frank-wilson","tag-whit-weeks","tag-zabien-brown"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82164,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82152\/revisions\/82164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}