A lot of eyes are going to be honed in on Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where the Alabama Crimson Tide take on the LSU Tigers.

Both teams are fresh off a bye, but LSU underwent some serious changes by firing head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan immediately after the Tigers’ got trounced by Texas A&M on their home field.

Ultimately, Frank Wilson who served as LSU’s running back coach was named as the interim coach.

Today, we offer several keys to the game for the Crimson Tide, as this may not be as easy of a game as it seems.

LSU’s coming in with that “one-game new coach boost,” so it’ll be important for Alabama to come into this game calculated.

Be Smart With the Ball

Asking Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson to make smart decisions isn’t asking a lot. We’ve seen him be as composed as can be for someone who is in his first season as a starter.

But despite all of LSU’s flaws, the one thing that it does at a high level is defending the pass.

Tigers defensive backs Mansoor Delane, PJ Woodland, AJ Haulcy, Dashawn Spears and Temarcus Cooley are all coverage monsters.

Simpson has been remarkable at threading the needle with his passes and throwing in tight spaces, but the Tigers have very active hands – and the plays he’s used to making, may not be possible tonight.

Pressure

Over the past four games, we’ve seen remarkable pressure from Alabama’s defense.

The combination of Yhonzae Pierre, James Smith, Tim Keenan, and Justin Jefferson has been one of the main reasons why Alabama leads the SEC in passing yards allowed per game.

Pressuring quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will be critical. Nussmeier, for as talented as he is, is very capable at turning the ball over.

Last season, he led all of the SEC and was tied for third in the FBS with 12 interceptions. 

Make the man sweat, and Alabama’s secondary is going to be licking their chops.

Safety Bray Hubbard leads the SEC in interceptions, and the Tide have two consecutive games with pick-sixes. From Zabien Brown and Dashawn Jones.

Not only that, LSU is prone to let up sacks, allowing two sacks per game, which is just a smidge below average.

The Run Game

It’s been a hot-button topic all season.

Alabama truly hasn’t had an alpha running back since Najee Harris. Every now and then, there have been breakout games from Jam Miller and Kevin Riley, and we even saw Daniel Hill starting to get his shine.

But there’s no real running back to take the bulk of the carries and gain at a consistent rate.

LSU, who has typically been decent at stopping the run, allowed an average of 218 rushing yards in the past three games.

Now with an interim coach, the Tigers will probably come out the gate hot. But Alabama needs to establish the run early to zap the life out of LSU’s defense.

Don’t Fall In!

The most important one of them all. Do not fall into the trap.

It’s the perfect “rat poison” game that will give the Crimson Tide a sense of entitlement and confidence. But in reality, LSU has just been beaten around for a few weeks.

This team is going to be angry.

The Crimson Tide cannot afford to lose this game, and the only thing they can do is to treat the opponents like they’re a worthy opponent, and they won’t disappoint. Win or lose.