Three Matchups to Watch: LSU at Alabama

Stephen Lew

By Hunt Palmer

After two weeks of turmoil at LSU, it’s time for football.

LSU and Alabama held a sacred spot on the calendar for two decades, and the sideshow in Sportsman’s Paradise has swallowed it whole this year. Not anymore.

The Crimson Tide emerged from a disaster in Tallahassee on Labor Day Weekend to win seven straight and find itself securely in the mix for a College Football Playoff spot in Kalen DeBoer’s second season.

This isn’t the dominant physical squad that Nick Saban crafted over the years, but Alabama has obvious strengths that start on the outside.

LSU is reeling having lost three of four and heads to Tuscaloosa with an interim head coach. The Tigers have preached physicality all week. They’ll get a chance to put those words to practice Saturday night.

Here are three key matchups to watch.

LSU’S MANSOOR DELANE, PJ WOODLAND AND AJ HAULCY VS. ALABAMA’S TY SIMPSON, GERMIE BERNARD AND RYAN WILLIAMS

It’s a lot of names, but it’s an incredible tilt in terms of talent.

Simpson ranks second in the SEC in passing yards and touchdowns. He’s got a sparkling 20-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and looks the part of a high NFL Draft pick.

Ryan Williams exploded onto the scene last year 177 yards against Georgia and six touchdowns in his first five college games. He cooled after that and only has three scoring catches this season, but his playmaking ability is as good as any college wide receiver outside of Jeremiah Smith.

Ryan Williams was a top 3 ATD call for me today!

He gets a touchdown in the 2nd quarter for Bama! pic.twitter.com/rZEUqFfixi

— Joshua Riemer (@JoshTRiemer) October 4, 2025

Bernard is a senior who came to Alabama with DeBoer from Washington. He leads the Tide in catches, yards and touchdowns.

Neither Bernard nor Williams is overly big, but both have elite traits on the outside.

So does Delane.

This was a big matchup for LSU last time out, and A&M was 2-for-2 targeting Delane, though he caused Harold Perkins’s interception with a tip.

PJ Woodland’s ProFootballFocus coverage grade this year is a 72.3. He has a pair of pass break ups against A&M but allowed three catches for 63 yards.

Haulcy has had an awesome season in Baton Rouge.

The Tide is second in the conference to Tennessee in passing and 13th in rushing attempts per game. They want to air it out. LSU’s defensive backfield better be ready.

LSU’S BRAELIN MOORE, COEN ECHOLS AND JOSH THOMPSON VS. ALABAMA’S DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

The word is out. LSU is going to run the ball a ton on Saturday.

The unit that ranks 132 of 136 in rushing attempts is going to change that. Can it be successful?

Alabama’s statistics would suggest so. The Tide has the 12^th ranked run defense in the SEC in terms of yards per game and 15^th in terms of yards per carry. Florida State ran for 230 yards. Georgia ran for 227. Missouri ran for 163. Tennessee ran for 142.

Harlem Berry gets us started in Tiger Stadium! pic.twitter.com/xvbkimM3uj

— Matthew Brune (@MatthewBrune_) October 25, 2025

Harlem Berry averaged over seven yards per carry in the first half against Texas A&M. He’ll need that interior to move the line of scrimmage early and often to get going. LSU’s tackles are a question mark. Weston Davis has struggled, and Carius Curne may be a little bit gimpy. The center and guards will have to set the tone.

RED ZONE EFFICIENCY

This favors Alabama in a huge way.

The Crimson Tide has been phenomenal in the red zone this season, scoring 32 touchdowns in 41 trips. That 76% clip is third in the SEC and eighth nationally.

LSU, on the other hand, is just 17-for-28 (59%) on touchdowns which ranks 91^st nationally.

As much fun as 2011 was, the Tigers have no shot in Tuscaloosa settling for field goals this time around.

Texas A&M scored four red zone touchdowns in five red zone tries in Tiger Stadium. Haulcy’s interception was a big play, but there were no other stops.

Vanderbilt scored on three of four tries, and the fourth was a kneel down inside the five to run the clock out. That’s, for all intents and purposes, eight touchdowns in nine drives against the LSU defense.

LSU has to force a couple of field goals on Saturday night to keep Alabama close. On the flip side, they’ve got to finish drives.