A win over LSU for Alabama will help in title hunt

To be taken seriously in any title talk, the Crimson Tide (7-1) needs to beat some serious competition, starting with BCS No. 10 LSU (7-1) on Saturday in Baton Rouge. If Alabama deserves to be in the title conversation, its running game has to look more like the 2009 edition, and its defense can't look as lost as it did against South Carolina.
LSU gave up a school-record 440 yards rushing to Heisman Trophy front-runner Cam Newton and Auburn. The good news for LSU is the Tide's Greg McElroy is no Newton, and Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson are more conventional runners for LSU to defend. This will keep the game close. What hurts the Tigers are quarterbacks Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson and the fact that they haven't been able to take advantage of NFL-caliber receivers Terrence Toliver and Rueben Randle. With an open date, the Tide is going to have a plan to shut down LSU's running attack led by Stevan Ridley, forcing Jefferson and Lee to the air. That has contributed to a whopping 18 turnovers this year, and the Tide rarely is as generous.

Alabama 23, LSU 17