Some perspective on the lack thereof in the South

Yes, the peg is LSU v. Alabama, but Andy Staples goes broader than that: On the South's looney-bin love affair with football.

Little wonder that the most religious part of the country follows football with a spiritual zeal. Who says there are only heavenly rewards.

Enjoy!

mg

Armageddon (a/k/a Bama-LSU): Who ya got?

Tommy here. Are y'all giddy? I'm giddy. Of course, I'm not an Alabama or LSU fan. Many of them are already curled up in the fetal position. Or drinking. Or both.

The SEC has a slew of big games every year, but this one is special. Even the New York Times decided to write dueling pieces about LSU-Alabama. The stories do get into identity and academics and other topics NOT APPROPRIATE FOR GAME DAY, but here's the Bama story and here's the LSU story if you want to check them out.

But what you really want is predictions. You should know, if you haven't come around here much, that Michael Gordon is a Bama fan extraordinare. It was a great show of restraint for him to leave out the word "we" in his pick.

Michael:
Let's save the prose and put out the same caveats I used for last year's game in Baton Rouge. If Alabama can avoid giving up Big Plays and being sucked in by the Trick Ones, it should win. Last year, it couldn't deliver on either of those fronts. This year, I think it will. Of course, that presumes AJ McCarron's head doesn't explode from the pressure and the staggering talent of the LSU team. He'll have to show more precision under a level of heat he hasn't seen all year. But the kid can play. So can his teammates. Tide, 24-21.

Peter St. Onge:
Two super defenses - but different. LSU is built on speed more than size, and it hasn't faced an offensive line with the kind of push that Bama will bring. LSU will have to work for its yards just a little more than the Tide. Nick Saban, with the football world watching, coaches his way back to an NFL sideline. Bama, 20-13. (And yes, the Saban to the NFL thing was completely gratuitous. Can't let Gordon enjoy this too much.)

Trent Roberts:
As much as anything, I'm interested in seeing the in-game adjustments by both teams -- what happens after Richardson rips off a 45-yard TD early on, or Lee hits Randle for 70 just after halftime. Gimme LSU, 18-17, with a late two-point conversion from The Hat & Co. being the difference.

Tommy:
For weeks now my suspicion has been that Alabama would win this game in a blowout, and I still wouldn't be surprised if it ends up something like 31-10. The great thing about this game is that the teams are so similar (great defenses, questions at QB) but the coaches are so different. It's like a real-life test of the old line about Bear Bryant -- "He could take his'n and beat your'n or he could take your'n and beat his'n."

So who's the better coach? The Saban X3000 or the Mad Hatter?

I want it to be Les, because we need more entertaining weirdness in the world, and especially in college football. Plus, LSU is awfully good on the road and at night. It's so, so tempting. But I just can't do it. Alabama, 23-20.

VIDEO: LSU-Alabama previews

Your video preview headquarters for LSU-Alabama:

Nick Saban's take:

Les Miles' take:

CBS Sports keys to the game:

And the winner will be ...

Fox Sports' preview:

Pregame reading and viewing

LSU's Daily Reveille has an 8-page special section today. Click here for the Reville website, then go to the lower right to flip through the pages. (And don't miss the ad for Tiger Plaza apartments on Page 8.)

In the spirit of fairness, here's this morning's Crimson White.

Meanwhile, the SEC itself has put together a blood-thumper of a video in the best tradition of John Facenda intoning "this was a war" over slow-motion NFL highlights. Go here for that.

Honey badgers, Chinese Bandits and 200 pounds of alligator meat

Continuing with items that have no bearing whatsoever on the big game:

* Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana took to the Senate floor Wednesday to talk up the game and his team. Story and video from The Washington Post here.

* Go here for a version of "Chinese Bandits" from the rock band Better Than Ezra, from their new LSU-themed record "Death Valley." (More info from the band's website here.)

* Pregame activities include a bid to make the world's largest pot of gumbo. Go here for the details.

Good seats still available (especially at $6,000 per)

Checked in on StubHub just to see what the going rate was for Saturday night ducats. They range from $300 for a spot in the corner of the end zone to $6,000 for the rarefied air of the Ivory Club. Or you could just go to eBay and spend 9 bucks on 2 ticket stubs from 1997. (And you get a picture of the band to boot!)

-- RTR

What's LSU-Alabama without Gary and Verne

Quick Q&A on the biggest game of the season from the CBS crew of Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson.

I know Gary thinks highly of himself, but he knows the game and isn't afraid to tell you what he thinks and just saw. Verne stumbles these days more often than Gerald Ford, but he's still got the voice and presence to stand up to a Big Game atmosphere.

May be my Crimson paranoia, but I think Danielson believes LSU is goinna win.

See what you think.