LSU vs Alabama prediction, betting odds, spread, preview

The LSU Tigers will travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the oddsmakers are expecting a tight contest.

The current betting line at Caesars Sportsbook has the Crimson Tide as three-point favorites, which is only the third time this decade that the Tigers have entered this matchup within a touchdown on the point spread.

The Crimson Tide have held a stranglehold over this rivalry for the most part under Nick Saban, but the Tigers have now won outright two of the past four seasons and covered in three of the last four.

Below I’ll break down the reasons to like each team and predict the final score and a best bet for this much-anticipated SEC rivalry.

Reasons to like LSU

The Tigers offense has been among the best in the nation, and the case could be made that it’s been the best considering how well Jayden Daniels and company have performed during SEC play. Daniels is among the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy with the Tigers passing game coming close to the level they were at under Joe Burrow back in 2019, and he’s got plenty of weapons with Malik Nabers leading an elite cast of wide receivers. The Tigers defense hasn’t been anywhere near the level of the offense, but they’ve performed better the past two weeks and might keep that going this week considering that Alabama has struggled on offense at times.

Reasons to like Alabama

The Crimson Tide haven’t always delivered pretty wins this season, but the bottom line is that they’re still among the best in the SEC under Nick Saban as evidenced by their 5-0 conference record so far. They’ll be facing their toughest test yet this season against the Tigers, but the Crimson Tide defense has been among the best in the SEC and should be able to contain Daniels and the elite Tigers offense enough to stay in the game as long as their offense can execute enough big plays with Jalen Milroe under center. Milroe’s struggled with consistency, but he’s got a big arm and should be able to take advantage of LSU’s beat up secondary.

The bottom line

This is anyone’s game as evidenced by the close point spread, with the winner all but certain to advance to the SEC Championship Game much like last season. The Tigers were able to pull off the upset at home last season, and while it will be tough for them to replicate that on the road, their offense has enough juice to put up points against a Crimson Tide defense that’s yet to face an offense of their caliber. The Tigers defense will likely give up enough chunk plays to Milroe for the Crimson Tide to stay in it, but Daniels should be able to lead his team to victory for the second-straight year assuming they can avoid turnovers.

Final score pick: LSU 34, Alabama 31

Best bet: LSU money line (+135)