Match-up of the Week: #9 LSU visits #3 Alabama

Looking ahead to this week, there are two major match ups that will go a long way in deciding the BCS bowls and conference champions. the two games: 16 Ohio St. @ 11 Penn St. and of course 9 LSU @ 3 Alabama. The Ohio St.-Penn St. involves the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the Big Ten Standings going at it. I give the Penn St. Nittany Lions the edge as they have a stronger "D" and maybe the country's best home-field advantage with 106,000 fans in the stadium. The winner of the game wont control it's own destiny as they would still need conference-leading Iowa to lose, but the loser of this game will be out of contention to win the conference. Its a must win for both teams. I'll take Penn St. 31-17.

Now let's focus on the biggest game of the week. Its LSU going against Alabama. This one will basically decide the Winner of the SEC West Division. In the SEC, there are two divisions: SEC West and SEC East. The teams with the best record in each will play each other for the conference title. Florida has already clinched the SEC East. Back to the analysis. LSU (who comes to Tuscaloosa, AL every other year)has not lost here since 1998. Alabama, though, is coming off a bye week, which means they had two weeks to prepare for this game. Alabama should have the advantage, and although the score should be close, the game really wont be in doubt. Alabama has the better defense and their RB Mark Ingram is currently the front runner to win the Heisman Trophy. With those things working in their favor, I Like 'Bama 20-13 in this one.