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Tide In Final Prep Mode For LSU
Alabama's Big Uglies
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The University of Alabama Football team was hard at it again yesterday preparing for Saturday's matchup with the fourth-ranked LSU Tigers. The Tide put in approximately two hours of work outside in full pads on the Thomas Drew Practice Fields.
The Crimson Tide is working on their game plan to stop, or at least slow down, the SEC's leading rushing offense that averages 309.1 yards a game. LSU sports a perfect 7-0 record which includes an unblemished 4-0 SEC slate.
Practice yesterday with the running backs saw them carrying one football in both hands stressing ball control and security.
Everyone was practicing yesterday. The three injured players were hard at it, showing they are recovering nicely. In fact, in yesterday's press conference, Saban alluded to there being no injuries, and the three are expected to play Saturday.
Alabama and LSU kick off this Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. The game is being broadcast on CBS from Bryant-Denny Stadium. Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Allie LaForce will be making the call for the third time in as many weeks.
This will be the 80th meeting between the Crimson Tide and the Bengal Tigers. Bama leads the series 49-25-5, and is currently riding a four-game winning streak.
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Crimson Tide Football
Saban Says Everyone Must Do Their Jobs
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Alabama head football coach Nick Saban says everyone on the Bama football team must be ready to do their jobs against LSU this Saturday. Saban met with reporters yesterday for his second press update this week. He said the team must remain focused, even through all the media hype. He said it was important for there to be focus, yet for the players not to get bored doing the same things over and over this late in the week.
One of the pluses, according to Saban, is that everyone practiced yesterday and there were no major injuries to report. He mentioned how Dominick Jackson, Ronnie Harrison, and Eddie Jackson had been banged up since the Tennessee game. He specifically mentioned he was pleased with Jackson and Harrison's progression as the week has gone on.
Issues with third down woes were attributed to the offensive line. He said line issues and inabilities to make needed catches at at times were reasons.
Saban commented that the Alabama-LSU game is typically the most physical game of the year.
Concerning LSU's Leonard Fournette, Saban said that you cannot simply add an extra guy into the box in order to stop him. Saban said do that and LSU can then beat you with the pass.
Turning to the offensive line again, Saban said that they really didn't have schematic issues, but rather had execution issues. He believes the O-line needs to play together, and that they've been beaten on the edge more than he'd like.
Concerning the play calling of offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, Saban said he thinks Kiffin has been able to keep Alabama's offense balanced. He believes that will be a big part of the contest this Saturday.
And turning to the College Football Playoff rankings, Saban says that they really don't mean anything. He attributes the rankings to the media needing something to write and talk about. He was emphatic that he doesn't want his players spending time thinking about the rankings
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Alabama Men's Golf
15th-Ranked Tide Wins Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational
Tide Wins 2015 Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
It was their second consecutive victory. Yesterday, the 15th-ranked Alabama men's golf team claimed victory in the 2015 Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational by five strokes over third-ranked Wake Forest. The Tide finished with an 824 (281-269-274) tournament score, tied for the sixth-lowest tournament total in program history. The Tide's 40-under par finish is the fourth-lowest vs. par par in Alabama history.
Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said, "It feels really good to finish the fall season with two straight wins. We have been able to beat really good teams during the stretch. We had a great day today with Wake Forest. I think they are one of the top two or three teams in the country and that’s because they are really good. I wanted to see how our guys would handle that and I am proud of the way they handled today. To win this tournament, while holding onto the lead and competing against a really good team back and forth all day long is a great way to end the fall."
All five of Bama's golfers finished the tourney among the top-10 of the 17-team field. They were Tom Lovelady (2nd), Jonathan Hardee (tied 4th), Robby Shelton and Steven Setterstrom (tied 6th) and Davis Riley (tied 9th).
The top five finishes were Alabama, Wake Forest, UAB, Pepperdine and Cal Poly.
Seawell commented, "The last two tournaments we’ve battled three of the top four teams and have been able to beat them in pressure-packed days, so I think it really does help our confidence. We are still pretty young and days like today do things to help you build as we get ready for the championship time of both the SEC and NCAAs. We look forward to enjoying this one on the long flight home and we will get ready to go back to workouts next week."
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Bama-LSU Tickets Lowest Price In Past 5 Years
It appears that tickets may be a little lower priced for the Alabama-LSU game this Saturday. Instead of an arm and a leg perhaps only one appendage will do. According to Jesse Lawrence of Forbes Now, the average price of Alabama-LSU tickets this year are 21.8% lower from the $399.39 average back on October 28th. In fact, it's the lowest price ticket on the secondary market for this game in either of the school's cities in five seasons. The cheapest available ticket for the game Saturday is currently $178.00, down 14.4% from the $208.00 price at this time last week.
Last season the game in Baton Rouge saw an average ticket price of $460.50 average price, which is 31.6% higher than the current average price. Now some believe it could be the fact that should the Crimson Tide lose this game then they will fall from playoff contention, thus lowering the average ticket price. Bama pulled out a 20-13 overtime win last year, and many believe it will go down to the wire again this weekend.
In 2013, when the game was last played in Tuscaloosa, average prices for tickets averaged $332.41 on the secondary market. That one was previously the lowest priced average ticket for this series prior to this season's prices.
The 2011 regular-season matchup was the highest-priced Alabama-LSU ticket on the secondary market. They called it, "The Game of the Century," and was the first time in history the two schools met undefeated and ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country. Those tickets came in at $697.21 on the secondary market.
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