The Alabama Crimson Tide can take a major step toward the SEC Championship Game and a spot in the College Football Playoff on Saturday afternoon when they collide with the LSU Tigers in a showdown with massive national championship implications at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 and No. 3 in the CFP Ranking, Alabama (8-0, 5-0 in SEC) enters the game without a win over a team currently in the Top 25. A victory over LSU would be the Tide's signature win of the season. Meanwhile the Tigers (8-0, 4-0), who are No. 1 in the AP Poll and No. 2 in the CFP Ranking, already have three victories over top-10 teams and are 5-0 against the spread in their last five road games. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. The Crimson Tide are 6-point favorites in the latest Alabama vs. LSU odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 64.5. Before making any Alabama vs. LSU picks, be sure to check out the college football predictions from handicapping expert Barrett Sallee.
Sallee is a true insider -- a CBS Sports analyst, SiriusXM host, Heisman voter and consistently one of the top CBS Sports experts picking college football games against the spread -- and his best bets have helped bring in huge returns. He debuted with SportsLine in 2017 and has delivered in a big way, posting a winning record in his weekly best bets column since that point. He has gotten 2019 off to a blistering start as well, going 20-9-1 with his best bets thus far.
Plus, he's on an impressive run in games involving LSU. In fact, Sallee is 5-1 in his last six college football picks involving the Tigers. Anyone who has followed him is way up. Now, he has turned his attention to Alabama vs. LSU and locked in another confident against the spread pick. It's available only at SportsLine.
Sallee knows Alabama has dominated the series against LSU recently. The Tide have won the last eight meetings between the schools, including a 29-0 victory last year in Baton Rouge and a 24-10 win in the Tigers' last visit to Tuscaloosa in 2017. In addition, Alabama coach Nick Saban is 10-4 in his career against LSU, while Tigers coach Ed Orgeron is 0-6 all-time against the Crimson Tide.
Sallee also has factored in that Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is likely to play, according to comments Saban made this week. The Heisman Trophy candidate has passed for 2,166 yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions this season but sprained his right ankle on Oct. 19. He underwent a surgical procedure and sat out the team's most recent game against Arkansas.
Even so, the Tide are no guarantee to cover the Alabama vs. LSU spread on Saturday.
Sallee has considered that Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow has helped transform the LSU offense into an unstoppable force. The senior signal-caller has run the Tigers' new spread offense to near perfection, ranking No. 1 in the FBS in completion percentage (78.8) and No. 2 in several other categories, including passing touchdowns (30), passing yards per game (350.6) and points responsible for (200). He's also No. 3 in the country in total offense (366.3 yards per game). With Burrow at the helm, LSU ranks No. 4 in the country in scoring offense (46.8 points per game) and total offense (535.9 yards per game).
In addition, Sallee has taken into account that LSU is the more tested team entering Saturday's game. The Tigers already have beaten Texas, Florida and Auburn. All were in the top 10 when they played. Meanwhile, Alabama's lone Top 25 victory this season came against No. 24 Texas A&M, which is no longer ranked.
Sallee has analyzed this matchup and while we can tell you he's leaning under, he has discovered a crucial x-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He's sharing it only at SportsLine.
Who covers in LSU vs. Alabama? And what crucial x-factor causes one side of the spread to hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the LSU vs. Alabama spread you need to jump all over Saturday, all from the college football insider who's 5-1 on his last six picks involving the Tigers.
