Alabama vs LSU 2012 BCS National Title Game Predictions

If their regular season meeting was being referred to as the “Game of the Century” what would this one be called… the Game of the Millennium?

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA, is sure to be filled with felines tonight when the hometown favorite (13-0) LSU Tigers host the betting underdogs, (11-1) Alabama Crimson Tide. Les Miles and the SEC champs continue to be listed as the clear favorites over Bama with just hours away from the 2012 BCS Championships opening kickoff.

According to most College Football Odds experts, Louisiana State is projected to lose this highly contested game by a minimum of two points. The last time these teams met, the Tide were also listed as the betting odds favorites when they were at home.

Nick Saban went into their Nov. 5^th meeting with a 5-point spread in his favor. But in the end, the Tigers prevailed with a baseball score of 9-6. The 2012 BCS Championship Game is expected to crush the viewing numbers produced in November’s Game of the Century. The LSU-Alabama game drew the second-highest rating of any regular season college football game broadcasted on CBS since 1987. ESPN’s broadcast of the 2012 BCS National Title Game is expected to crush those numbers tonight.

So who will finish on top in this very entertaining and even matchup? As I stated before, I believe that the fact that Alabama lost their regular season meeting, will be the difference this time around. Almost echoing Nick Saban’s sentiments, I believe that the Tide will be able to make the adjustments needed to force LSU to counter, and perhaps force them into making mistakes.

“Sometimes when you have a negative experience, you’re more willing to maybe learn some of the things that can be valuable to you in the future,” Saban said. “I look at the first game as more of an opportunity for us to learn and understand some of the things that we’re going to need to do to be able to have a chance to be successful this time.”

The key for this game is much like in a game of chess; whichever coach has the most counter-moves in place, coupled with which team will execute them better, will win the 2012 BCS National Title. I believe that the Tide will have the early advantage, especially after having so much footage from their initial encounter to work with.

Unlike their first matchup, I don’t think this will be as low of a scoring game. I see Bama coming out and immediately testing the Tigers’ secondary with deep balls early in the first quarter. I also predict the Tide will score the very first touchdown of the game, and it will come before break.

“I would like for them to focus on the opportunity, not the pressure part,” Saban added, “so that they really are zeroed into the mental practice and the things that when they go out there and play, they’re going to be confident in doing their job the way they need to do it to have success.”