In a battle between unbeatens, Matt Stinchcomb feels the LSU Tigers should have been No. 1 weeks ago, well before their game with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
In what will be the biggest game of the college football season up to this point, a clash of unbeaten SEC West rivals will meet in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon, as the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0) will host the No. 1 LSU Tigers (8-0). LSU hasn’t beaten Alabama since 2011’s thrilling Game of the Century, but could this one play out differently?
FanSided spoke with ESPN college football analyst Matt Stinchcomb on behalf of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team to give us a little sampling of what to expect when the Bayou Bengals take on the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon. Stinchcomb was a two-time All-American right tackle with the Georgia Bulldogs and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
In previous conversations with Stinchcomb, he had been reluctant to praise the Bayou Bengals, due in large part to their offensive futility as a football team. But with the way the LSU offense has looked this year, he’s been very impressed with what he’s seen out of Ed Orgeron’s team so far.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty remarkable,” said Stinchcomb. “The offense in particular is the best at LSU in 10 years, probably longer. I think they should have been ranked No. 1 a couple of weeks ago.” Stinchcomb would add that beating the Auburn Tigers shouldn’t have been the reason LSU leapfrogged Alabama in the rankings, as they should have been ahead of them for a while now.
Though Alabama and the ACC’s Clemson Tigers are concurrent dynasties, neither Power 5 powerhouse has played any team of note this season. LSU has wins over Auburn, the Florida Gators and the Texas Longhorns on their résumé, all of which were ranked inside of the top-10 when LSU handed them a loss.
As for what he’s seen out of Joe Burrow, Stinchcomb has been blown away by his growth in his second year in the LSU program. In his first year with the Tigers, Burrow was a so-so SEC starter. Now, he looks to be the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy and in contention to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. It’s been quite the climb and he deserves a ton of credit.
While Burrow has dominated so far and has had a clean bill of heath, the latter can’t be said for Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He suffered a high ankle sprain in the Crimson Tide’s home win over the rival Tennessee Volunteers in the Third Saturday in October. Tagovailoa had surgery on his ankle and missed the Arkansas Razorbacks game where Mac Jones filled in for him.
“Yeah, I think Tua is going to impact that football game,” said Stinchcomb. “I don’t know how it’ll be this time, because last time he had the injury, it was a high ankle sprain to his left ankle as a left-handed passers, which is his plant foot. But this one is his right, which changes things, so it isn’t as bad as the last one…This injury couldn’t have happened at a better time in this scenario.”
Stinchcomb is obviously referring to Alabama getting a cakewalk of a game vs. the terrible Razorbacks, a game that seemingly any Alabama quarterback could have won. He also is mentioning that having the Week 10 bye to get even more healthy after having undergone tight rope surgery, as well as it not being on his plant foot, should have him close to good vs. LSU.
So we’re looking at a game where this will likely be the loser’s only regular-season loss. When asked about the chances of if this game’s loser will still make the College Football Playoff as presumably a one-loss non-champion, with the winner likely winning the SEC Champion over Georgia, Stinchcomb wasn’t too quick to give the Alabama vs. LSU loser a spot in the Playoff.
“You’ve got other contenders, of course,” said Stinchcomb. “You’ve got the Pac-12 that has eliminated itself from contention in my eyes. A likely undefeated Clemson. They’ll have one near-miss, but not a miss…Has the Big 12 played into the SEC’s had? It certainly has.”
Connecting the dots here, Stinchcomb feels that the SEC Champion, the Big Ten Champion and an undefeated ACC Champion Clemson are all getting in, leaving one spot open. He doesn’t seem to buy the Pac-12’s case with contending teams like Oregon Ducks or the Utah Utes. Similar logic applies to Big 12 teams like the Baylor Bears or the Oklahoma Sooners. But we’ll see about that.
Overall, both Alabama and LSU are two of the 10 schools that have a legitimate to a semi-legitimate shot at getting in. Since both schools are undefeated heading into their annual meeting on Saturday, they can afford a loss and still likely find a way to get in as a second SEC team. However, the loser needs to see that game’s winner beat presumably Georgia in Atlanta to get in.
Matt Stinchcomb spoke with FanSided on behalf of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
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