Sam Leavitt has been rolling, but Alabama is set up to make the LSU quarterback earn every clean throw on Saturday.
The Tigers come into the rivalry game on the back of wins over Mississippi State and Auburn, and Leavitt has been sharp throughout that stretch. Over those two games, he completed 63 of 83 passes for 677 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. On the season, he has topped 2,100 passing yards with 17 touchdowns, a sign of how productive LSU’s offense has been when he’s operating efficiently.
Alabama’s answer isn’t just about collapsing the pocket. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack wants to cloud Leavitt’s picture before the ball is even snapped, using a 4-2-5 scheme that lets defenders shift between rushing and coverage. The goal is simple: make the quarterback hesitate, second-guess, and hold the ball a beat longer than he wants to.
That’s where the Crimson Tide can change the game without blitzing recklessly. Instead of loading up pressure, Alabama can disguise where help is coming from and force Leavitt to sort out the real coverage after the snap. Safety Bray Hubbard put it plainly Tuesday: "We got to do a great job disguising and making sure they can't just tip our coverages off of just our alignment," Hubbard said.
That matters because LSU’s offense, led by Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., leans on tempo and pre-snap movement to find favorable matchups. If Alabama can muddy those reads, Leavitt may be pushed into tougher decisions once the play is live.
The numbers show why that matters. According to Pro Football Focus statistics published by LSU Wire, Leavitt has an 89.5 passing grade, a 79.5% adjusted accuracy rate and an average time to throw of 2.82 seconds.
His 1.6% turnover-worthy play rate points to a quarterback who usually protects the football, even though he has thrown eight interceptions this season. Havoc Football also lists his sack rate at 3.8% of dropbacks, with an expected points added per dropback of +0.40.
Those are strong efficiency markers, but they don’t tell the whole story when pressure and disguised coverage start to collide. Alabama doesn’t need to win with pure speed off the edge if it can force Leavitt to pause and process longer than usual.
There is a possible roadmap for LSU in what Texas A&M did against Alabama on October 24. In the first half of that game, the Aggies found success with run-pass options and slant routes over the middle.
Luke Metz and Caleb Woodson were pulled toward the line by run action, which opened space behind them. Marcel Reed took advantage and piled up nearly 100 passing yards on two first-half touchdown drives.
But Alabama adjusted after halftime. Wommack’s defense shut down those RPO slant looks, and Reed’s effectiveness faded as the Crimson Tide finished off a 31-20 win. That’s the warning for LSU: the openings may be there early, but they may not stay there.
If those middle-of-the-field throws aren’t available, Kiffin and Weis can still test Alabama with quick outs, shallow crossers and other underneath routes. Tight end Trey'Dez Green also gives LSU another option, especially on routes that attack the space between zone defenders. His size and versatility could make him a useful outlet if Alabama takes away Leavitt’s first read.
The danger, though, is obvious. Alabama intercepted Reed twice before Texas A&M could score, and Dijon Lee Jr. turned the first one into a touchdown before Chuck McDonald III picked off the next possession. That’s the risk when a quarterback commits to a window before confirming where the defense has rotated.
Leavitt will have to be careful with throws over the middle, especially if Alabama spins a defender into a lane that looked open pre-snap. The same goes for run-pass options. If the linebackers stay disciplined and don’t bite on the run fake, the space can disappear in a hurry.
Saturday’s matchup will ask Leavitt to do more than just deliver the ball accurately. Alabama is trying to make him play patient football against a defense built to change the picture on him. The challenge isn’t only whether he can throw it - it’s whether he can recognize when the throw is actually there.
In Other News...
Stephen A. Just Turned Up The Pressure On Kalen DeBoer
Alabamas season has reached the point where every stumble gets magnified, and Stephen A. Smith made sure the latest one landed with extra force. With the Crimson Tide sitting at 6-2, the spotlight has only intensified on Kalen DeBoer, whose first year in Tuscaloosa has already been measured against the programs usual standard of near-perfection and playoff contention.
The timing matters because LSU is next, and it is the kind of game that can either steady the season or deepen the questions around where Alabama is headed. Smiths criticism only adds to the pressure surrounding a team that is still ranked, still in the mix, and still expected to look more like Alabama, even as the margin for error keeps shrinking. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Showed One New Strength Nate Oats Has Been Demanding
Nate Oats spent the offseason stressing a point Alabama could not ignore after its 2025-26 NCAA Tournament loss: the Crimson Tide had to get better on the glass. In the 2026-27 season opener against Arkansas State, that message showed up in a big way, as Alabama piled up 25 offensive rebounds, the most in the Oats era, and turned those extra possessions into a 101-86 win.
Even with the shot not falling the way Alabama would have liked, the rebounding edge gave the Tide a cushion and a clear early sign of progress in an area Oats has been pushing for months. It was also notable because Alabama did it without its best offensive rebounder, Jaxon Richardson, which only adds another layer to what the team may be capable of once that part of the rotation is fully in place. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russell Faces A Huge Alabama Weekend With More Than Heisman Stakes
A packed college football weekend is putting several of the sports biggest names under the microscope, and Alabama fans have a particular reason to keep one eye on the Heisman race and another on the schedule. Keelon Russell is among the quarterbacks whose performance could ripple beyond the standings, with his game carrying weight not just for Alabamas playoff hopes but also for the way the sports hottest players are being tracked in the card market.
The broader slate features other Heisman hopefuls such as Jeremiah Smith, Kenny Minchey, Sam Leavitt, Trinidad Chambliss, Gunner Stockton, Devon Dampier and Bear Bachmeier, turning the weekend into a referendum on momentum as much as talent. For collectors, the stakes are tied to more than wins and losses, since player performances can move card values quickly, and the mix of licensed and unlicensed cards adds another layer to how these names are being chased. [Read more 🡒]