New Coaches, New Schemes? Doesn’t Matter; It’s Still Alabama-LSU

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0) will host the LSU Tigers this Saturday, November 8, inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tigers haven't had the season they hoped for, going from a top-ten national championship odds to being out of the playoff hunt entirely by the start of November, with the Tigers holding a 5-3 record and a 2-3 record in SEC play.

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To rub salt in the wound, LSU also fired its head coach, with Brian Kelly being the first LSU head coach not to win a national championship since Gerry DiNardo (1995-1999 was his tenure at LSU). LSU also fired its offensive coordinator. Despite the changes along the coaching staff, the Tigers are still the Tigers, and Alabama vs. LSU is still a matchup for the ages.

Alabama's players won't hide from that fact. Even though the coaching staff has shuffled, Ty Simpson, Tim Keenan, and others realize this is still a highly talented roster with the Bayou Bengals.

“Coaching change or not, it’s the same players," Simpson said during Tuesday's media availability. "They’ve been in every game, regardless of their record. I think, by far, one of the best defensive back-ends in the league, if not the country.

They’ve got great coaches. It’s gonna be a great challenge. We need to be ready to go and understand, ‘Hey, these guys are gonna come after you.’”

"They're still the same players, they're still the same team," Keenan said on Tuesday, "that roster hasn't changed for the most part, aside from the people who call plays. We gotta make sure we bring our A-game, just because the coaching changed and all that stuff is different, doesn't mean they gonna play different.

"Them guys are athletic; that's a good group of guys, it's gonna be a good battle on Saturday."

LSU has had a top-ten recruiting class every season since 2018, so the Tigers are not talent-deficient. They'll play their A-game on Saturday when the Tigers take on the Crimson Tide.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.