College football 2020: Top 13 games we’ll hype up all offseason

6. Alabama at LSU

Date: Saturday, Nov. 7 – Week 10

Let’s just get this out of the way — if you’re expecting the fireworks display that Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa provided in the 2019 season when the eventual champion LSU Tigers visited the Alabama Crimson Tide, then you are likely to be sorely disappointed with the results of the 2020 matchup between these longtime SEC rivals. That doesn’t mean this still won’t again be one of the best games of the year.

Admittedly, there is a chance that this Week 10 matchup could lose some of its by the time it actually rolls around. The mass exodus of talent from LSU that included Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Kristian Fulton, Grant Delpit, Patrick Queen, Lloyd Cushenberry III, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and K’Lavon Chaisson, to name a few, puts Ed Orgeron’s team in a position where they have a litany of critical holes to fill and questions to address. And they might not be able to.

That’s not to say that Alabama doesn’t have holes to address either as they must contend with losing Tua Tagovailoa and the star wide receiver duo of Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, among several other critical pieces. However, it does seem that the Crimson Tide are less likely to miss a beat given what they lose and their sustained level of success at the highest level.

Let’s hope that’s not the case for LSU, though. Hopefully, Orgeron can hand the keys to Myles Brennan at quarterback to keep the offense high-flying with Ja’Marr Chase while Derek Stingley Jr. can anchor another top-tier defense in Baton Rouge. And if that’s the case, we should be in store for another scintillating heavyweight bout between these SEC rivals.