Allstate BCS Championship Game Prediction: LSU vs. Alabama: January 9th 2012
2012 AllState BCS Championship Game Prediction
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama
When: Jan. 9, 8:30 PM ET
Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA
TV: ESPN and ESPN3
Thanks to the expert insight you’re going to receive in this informative bowl betting breakdown on the 2012 AllState BCS Championship game, Touthouse college football gamblers everywhere will be well-armed with betting insight when the national title game takes place on Monday, January 9, 2012 at 8:30 PM ET. That’s right collegiate football betting buffs, if you’re looking to cash in on this season’s BCS National Championship game, then you’re in luck in more ways than one. Not only will you get a pair of great ATS and O/U selections for this prime time matchup, but you’re also going to get a bankroll-boosting five-pack of expert BCS title game props picks that will help you cash in even more on the final game of the 2011 NCAA college football season. Okay, with that said and the game’s opening kickoff drawing nearer by the day, let’s get down to the business at hand, striking pay dirt in this year’s AllState BCS Championship game.
The 2012 BCS title game has brought along with it a lot of controversy for fans that wanted to see Oklahoma State in this contest instead of No. 2 Alabama, even though the Crimson Tide showed they could play with the Tigers in their heartbreaking 9-6 overtime loss to the Cowboys on Nov. 5. Betting backers that played the Crimson Tide in that contest cashed in that day with Alabama covering the college football spread as a 5.5-point home underdog. Now, with the Cowboys beating Stanford 41-38 in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday Jan. 2, the pressure is really on Alabama to prove they belong in this contest. Let’s take an in-depth look at both teams before I offer up my expert analysis and ensuing NCAAF pick on this year’s BCS title game.
Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1 SU, 8-4 ATS, 6-6 O/U)
I don’t know how else to say it, but in four decades of watching college fotball, there haven’t been very many teams whose defense was better than this season’s Alabama defensive unit. The Crimson Tide were absolute monsters on defense this season as they finished No. 1 across the board in every significant defensive statistical category there is. Alabama held its opponents to a mind-numbingly miniscule 8.8 points per game this season, while also finishing first against the run (74.9 ypg) and pass (116.3 ypg). Nick Saban’s defense held its opponents to single digits in seven of their 12 games this season, though it should be noted that they allowed 21 points and 14 points respectively in their final two games of the season in beating Georgia Southern and Auburn respectively. Offense also wasn’t a problem for the Crimson Tide this season as they finished 16th in the nation in scoring (36.0 ppg), led by their overwhelming 14th-ranked rushing attack (219.8 ypg). Junior running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Trent Richardson led the way as he racked up a whopping 1,583 yards and 23 scores on the ground while adding another 327 yards in receptions. Sophomore backup Eddie Lacy added 631 rushing yards and seven touchdowns while averaging a whopping 7.5 yards per carry. Sophomore quarterback A.J. McCarron wasn’t asked to do much by Saban and his staff other than not lose the game with turnovers. McCarron finished the regular season with a very respectable 16 TD passes and just five interceptions. Senior wideout Marquis Maze led the team in receptions with 56 grabs but caught just one TD pass all season long.
LSU Tigers (13-0 SU, 10-3 ATS, 7-5-1 O/U)
The top-ranked LSU Tigers used their nearly unstoppable offense to overwhelm its opponents – except one – en route to an undefeated record and berth in the BCS title game. Starting with its impressive 40-27 win over Oregon in its very first game of the season, the Tigers scored at least 40 points in a whopping nine of their 13 games this season. Not only did the Tigers average a bountiful 38.5 points per game this season (12th), but they were nearly as good as the Crimson Tide on defense as they finished second in the nation in points allowed (10.5 ppg). The Tigers held their opponents to just 166.6 passing yards per game, to rank sixth in the nation while also routinely shutting down the run by allowing a paltry 85.5 yards per game on the ground (4th). LSU’s offense, like Alabama’s, is led by its run-first attack (216.1, 17th), though it differs from the Crimson Tide’s in the fact that the Tigers use a trio of gifted sophomore running backs in order to get the job done. Second-year backs, Michael Ford (755 yds, 7 TDs), Spencer Ware (700 yds, 8 TDs) and Alfred Blue (539 yds, 7TDs) all topped the 500-yard plateau while scoring at least seven touchdowns apiece, not to mention the fact that freshman running back Kenny Hilliard added eight rushing scores of his own. Like their SEC counterparts in this matchup, LSU also doesn’t ask senior quarterback Jarrett Lee to do very much other than not cost them the game with a boatload of turnovers. Lee (14 TDs, 3 INTs) completed a very nice 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,306 yards while keeping defenses honest with just enough passing.
Analysis: While the Alabama Crimson Tide have struggled immensely in losing seven of their last nine meetings against LSU while also compiling a discouraging 3-4-2 ATS mark in its last nine games against the Tigers, I love the revenge factor in sports, particularly when the team looking for payback is as talented as the team they’re trying to extract it from. Having said that, I am going to advise college football bettors everywhere to back the Alabama Crimson Tide as a 2 point favorite in a contest that somehow manages to play out Over the set Over/Under Total of 40 points. I know the Tigers are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games, but Alabama has been even better in neutral site games, going 4-0 ATS in their L/4 neutral site games. These teams haven’t played in nearly five weeks and I also believe that plays into the hands of Alabama’s slightly superior defense. The Crimson Tide will need to get a couple of timely completions from A.J. McCarron and more than the 89 yards on 23 carries that Trent Richardson got in their regular season meeting in order to win this contest. I think this contest could very well see a bunch of points early on before the defenses settle in. Lest anyone forget, the Crimson Tide missed four field goals when these SEC rivals met in November and I just don’t see that happening again. The Over is 5-0 in Alabama’s L/5 bowl games and a spotless 4-0 in LSU’s L/4 neutral site games. The Over has also gone 4-1 in Alabama’s L/5 games in the month of January and 5-2-1 in LSU’s last eight games overall. Play the Tide and the Over college football bettors!
OFFICIAL SIDE PREDICTION: ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE -1.5
OFFICIAL TOTAL PREDICTION: OVER 40 POINTS
Be sure to visit Touthouse.com for expert college football predictions as well as BCS Championship game predictions next year.

Alabama vs. LSU
2012 Outback Bowl – A pair of 10-win teams will look to close out their season on a positive note when the Michigan State Spartans and Georgia Bulldogs square off in the 2012 Outback Bowl on January 2 at 1:00 PM ET, love from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. The best part about this matchup though is the fact that NCAAF gamblers will get a great chance to cash in with a pair of potentially winning wagers thanks to this expert college bowl betting breakdown.
2012 TicketCity Bowl – The embattled Penn State Nittany Lions and seriously deflated Houston Cougars will both be looking to cap off their respective 2011 seasons with a big victory when they meet in the 2012 TicketCity Bowl, on Monday, January 2 at 1:00 PM ET, live from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Both teams will be looking to get back in the win column following losses in their respective regular season finales.
2011 Chick-Fil-A Bowl – The Virginia Cavaliers and the Auburn Tigers will both be looking to get back in the win column and close out their respective seasons with a big bowl game victory when they meet in the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl on December 31 at 7:30 PM ET, live from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Thanks to this informative betting breakdown, college football gamblers will get the information they need in order to make a pair of wise wagers on this postseason bowl game matchup. Okay, with kickoff time quickly approaching, let’s get started.
2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl – The six-win UCLA Bruins (6-7 SU, 5-8 ATS, 5-8 O/U) and Illinois Fighting Illini’ (6-6 SU, 5-7 ATS, 3-9 O/U) will look to cap off their respective 2011 seasons with a victory when they meet in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on December 31, live from AT&T Park in San Francisco, California at 3:30 PM ET. Both struggling teams will also be looking to get back in the win column after losing multiple games to close out the regular season. This contest also features two teams playing for interim head coaches with Mike Johnson taking over for the fired Rick Neuheisel at UCLA and Vic Koenning taking over for the similarly fired Ron Zook at Illinois
2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl – The Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3 SU, 7-5 ATS, 5-7 O/U) and Vanderbilt Commodores (6-6 SU, 9-3 ATS, 7-5 O/U) will get it on in the 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl in what looks like one of the bigger mismatches on this season’s bowl schedule. The two teams will meet on December 31 at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee at 3:30 PM ET.
2011 Hyundai Sun Bowl – The Utah Utes (7-5 SU, 5-7 ATS, 4-8 O/U) and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-4 SU, 5-6-1 ATS, 7-5 O/U) will both be looking to close out their respective 2011 campaigns with a victory when they meet in the 2011 Hyundai Sun Bowl on December 31 at 2:00 PM ET, live from the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Both teams will also be looking to get back in the win column after losing their respective regular season closers.
2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies will look to use their absolutely explosive offense on the Northwestern Wildcats when the two six-win teams meet in the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas on Saturday December 31 when they meet at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas at 12:00 PM ET. This expert betting preview will give college football bettors everywhere the insight they’ll need in order to make a pair of smart wagers on this postseason matchup.


