No. 5 Alabama (-6.5) at No. 16 LSU 8 pm CBS
Daniel: Didn’t think we’d be saying this earlier in the season, but this one should be a lot of fun and has a lot of implications for the SEC West. It might not quite be at the level of some of the Alabama-LSU showdowns we saw a few years ago that turned into play-in games for a national title appearance, but these two teams have hit their strides and both are as physical as they come in the SEC. And while both teams run the ball well and play good defense, the edge has to go to Alabama because of receiver Amari Cooper, who may be playing at a higher level than anybody else in the nation right now. LSU has a star in the making itself in Travin Dural at receiver and Alabama has struggled against running QBs, but I still like the Tide to win, though they may not cover. Pick: Tide 27-24
Houston: I know what I want, and I know what I think they will happen..and they aren’t the same in this game. I want to think that LSU’s rushing attack and Leonard Fournette can pound on Alabama’s rush defense enough to keep Blake Sims and Amari Cooper on the sideline for extended periods of time. And I want to think that the Tigers’ defensive backs can at least hold Amari Cooper in check enough to allow LSU the opportunity to pull off some more fourth quarter magic, but the Tide look to be hitting on all cylinders right now. That being said, I picked against LSU against Ole Miss in a similar situation two weeks ago and Les Miles made a fool out of me. I swore then that I would never pick against the Mad Hatter at home, at night, ever again no matter what. Don’t let me down, Les. Winner: Tigers 27-24
Reed: The No. 1 rule of picking games? Don’t bet against the Tigers at home at night. I’m going to break that here. I like what LSU is doing of late, but Amari Cooper and Blake Sims have the Tide offense clicking. Combine that with Alabama’s SEC-leading defense and you’ve got the makings of a massive road win for Alabama. Winner: Tide 27-20
Ryan: If you don’t look at this line and salivate then we probably wouldn’t be friends in real life because diseased gamblers don’t really enjoy the company of anybody who’s not also a degenerate gambler. LSU doesn’t get points when they host a night game at Tiger Stadium. They give them. So, if you were to walk up to me on the street without any context and tell me otherwise, I’d automatically assume you to be both a liar and a thief and then hand you $100 anyways and roll the dice. It’s that good of a bet.
However, that doesn’t mean that I like the Tigers to win outright. Alabama has been rolling and you know Nick Saban is seething about where he’s been ranked by the committee these past two weeks. He’ll look to Saturday night to prove a point. Ultimately, LSU and Les Miles are way to well-versed in voodoo and wizardry to let it get out of hand when the Crimson Tide jump out to an early two-score lead. They’ll fight their way back into the game before losing a close one while continuing to fuel my surprisingly functional (and sometimes even profitable!) addiction. Winner: Alabama 24-23
