On the Beat: LSU might be the foe that shows how good Alabama football really is

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was Tuesday of the bye week, and the University of Alabama football team was back on the practice field following the lopsided 45-7 victory against Tennessee.

It was the kind of day in which if someone was going to need a little extra time to recover, this was it. The Crimson Tide had played eight consecutive weeks and just about everyone was a little beat up, yet nobody was absent. No one.

Alabama even started to get a player back as senior defensive end Da’Shawn Hand, who suffered a sprained MCL against Ole Miss, was in a black no-contact jersey under the close eye of a trainer. Running back Josh Jacobs (ankle) was also in black and limited, but the real news of the day went largely unnoticed.

It was that none of the other players who had recently suffered physical setbacks — including linebacker Rashaan Evans, defensive end Isaiah Buggs or wide receivers Calvin Ridley or Cam Sims, who were all shook up against Tennessee — were absent.

The team had the look of taking nothing for granted.

As Alabama heads into November, it’s in perfect position to earn another spot in the College Football Playoff, if not more, and at 8-0 is still considered the team to beat. Even Las Vegas thinks so. Last week, Bovada had the Crimson Tide as more than a scratch favorite to win the national championship followed by Ohio State and Penn State, which played this past Saturday.

• Alabama 5/6
• Ohio State 5/1
• Penn State 7/1
• Clemson 10/1
• Georgia 10/1
• Notre Dame 18/1
• Wisconsin 22/1

Yet no one knows how good this team really is, which is both good and bad if you’re a Crimson Tide fan.

On the good side, Alabama has destroyed its completion this season and bounced back after losing four linebackers to significant injuries in the season opener against Florida State. The offense is the midst of a season-evolution and the running game has been exceptional. Any opponent that can’t at least slow the Crimson Tide’s ground game has no shot of pulling off an upset.

The flip side, though, is quite different, and is why some people are questioning this team’s potential. After facing 10 ranked opponents last season, for which it didn’t get near the credit deserved, Alabama has played only one so far this season. LSU, the Tide’s next opponent, will be the second.

Former Alabama QB Greg McElroy on Crimson Tide: ‘Who have they beaten?’ https://t.co/sFRnMr1vyI #RollTide pic.twitter.com/Ovxgo4h4dN

— SEC Country Alabama (@SECCountryBama) October 23, 2017

For those of you jumping out of your seat to say that the Crimson Tide can’t do anything about that, it has to play the games on the schedule, you’re correct. But it raises into question how the team will react when it is finally challenged.

Alabama has faced a freshman quarterback in its last three games. The Crimson Tide’s five SEC opponents were 4-16 in league play heading into this weekend’s games, and three of those wins were by one team, Texas A&M (Ole Miss had the other against Vanderbilt). The rest are all in serious jeopardy of staying home during bowl season.

“I’ve only played two full games,” sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts said.

Alabama has faced good passing teams. It’s seen opponents that pride themselves on running the football. It’s even lined up against opponents that vowed to hit them in the face.

It really hasn’t faced a team that could do all three since the Seminoles, who subsequently fell apart without quarterback Deondre Francois.

At this point, you have to wonder if it’ll get that challenge during the regular season.

LSU has consistently been the one team that could stand up to Alabama physically, but the passing game has been average statistically. Running back Derrius Guice also provided the only motivation the Crimson Tide will need when declaring Alabama was “scared” of LSU during media days.

A Vanderbilt player only needed to say, “You’re next,” and look what happened to the Commodores. Alabama won 59-0. The Crimson Tide has also won six games in a row against LSU, including last year’s 10-0 shutout.

• 2012 (BCS Championship): Alabama 21-0
• 2012: Alabama 21-17
• 2013: Alabama 38-17
• 2014: Alabama 20-13 OT
• 2015: Alabama 30-16
• 2016: Alabama 10-0

Mississippi State has Nick Fitzgerald, the kind of quarterback who can give any defense problems. But the Bulldogs were slammed by Georgia and Auburn, which along with Alabama stand out defensively.

As for Auburn, no one knows what kind of team the Tigers will have a month from now. On paper, they probably match up the best of any of Alabama’s regular-season opponents. First, the Tigers have to get through Texas A&M and Georgia on the next two Saturdays.

If the standings don’t change, Alabama and Georgia will meet for the league title and barring an upset as the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the nation. Sadly, neither will be able to say that their biggest win was against another SEC foe, as the Bulldogs edged Notre Dame 20-19 on Sept. 9.

That’s getting out too far ahead to really consider as there’s still so much more football left to be played. Maybe LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn will rise to the challenge and we’ll see exactly what this Crimson Tide is made of.

The odds seem to be against it, though.

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