Kalen DeBoer knows exactly what’s waiting for Alabama in Baton Rouge.
As the No. 10 Crimson Tide gear up to face No.
15 LSU in Week 9, the Alabama coach made it clear Wednesday that this is the kind of game that can swing a season. With SEC Championship and College Football Playoff hopes in play for both teams, Saturday’s trip to LSU suddenly carries heavy weight for everyone involved.
DeBoer spent part of his media availability breaking down what makes the Tigers dangerous, and he started with the obvious. LSU, he said, can hit you in a lot of different ways.
“Just explosive offensively,” DeBoer said. “Got a front that really gets after the passer.
But does a nice job all around. And so, when they get rolling as a football team, it’s been really impressive what they can do to their opponents.
And so, this last week, you could just see them have a presence from the very get-go and execute at a high level. A lot of really good football players, and obviously, they do a really good job as a coaching staff, putting their guys in positions to have success.”
That’s not empty coach-speak. DeBoer sounded like a man who understands Alabama is walking into a hard one.
He also gave Lane Kiffin his due, and not just as a play-caller. DeBoer’s praise went beyond the offensive reputation Kiffin has carried for years, pointing instead to the way he has shaped LSU in his first season with the program.
“I think he’s a very good coach. He’s won a lot.
And I mean, extremely experienced and done it at different places. And so, I think it’s more than just an offensive mind, probably, that a lot of people look at and think of when they think of Coach Kiffin.
It’s how to put a team together, and he’s done a great job again here, bringing these guys together throughout this season and continuing to keep them growing and moving forward.”
The respect is obvious on both fronts: for the Tigers’ talent, and for the coach guiding them. And that’s why this one feels so loaded.
If Alabama is going to leave Death Valley with a win, DeBoer knows his team will need its sharpest performance of the season.
In Other News...
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The next major recruiting swing for LSU basketball arrives Thursday, when five-star 2027 guard Reese Alston is expected to make his college decision. The Tigers are in the mix alongside Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Wichita State, giving LSU a real chance to land one of the most coveted young guards in the country and add another high-end name to its future backcourt plans.
Reese Alstons recruitment, though, has carried an extra layer of intrigue because of the public comments from his father, former NBA guard Rafer Alston, about LSU coach Will Wade. With those tensions hanging over the process, the Tigers are waiting to see whether the appeal of the program outweighs the noise around it, and Thursday should provide a clear answer on just how strong LSUs position really is. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Heads Into Alabama Week With One Big Edge And One Concern
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Health, though, remains the lingering question. LSU has spent much of the season managing injuries, and while some players are making their way back, others are still uncertain for the Alabama game. For a team heading into one of the most important weeks on the schedule, that mix of improvement and uncertainty may end up mattering as much as the line on the board. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Playoff Hope Now Comes Down To A Brutal SEC Debate
The playoff math around LSU is already getting weird in the kind of way that tends to happen when the SEC starts beating itself up. FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt floated a scenario in which the Tigers could still reach the 2026 College Football Playoff even with three losses, comparing the seasons volatility to 2007 and pointing to a path where November changes everything. In his view, LSU would handle Alabama and Tennessee, while Kentucky would stumble twice, leaving the Tigers positioned to slide into the No. 11 seed.
What makes the discussion even trickier is how much the selection process may end up rewarding timing as much as record. If LSUs losses come early and its best head-to-head results land late, the Tigers could be judged very differently than another team with the same number in the loss column. It is the sort of SEC debate that can feel absurd in September and absolutely central by the time the bracket is drawn. [Read more 🡒]