The Alabama Crimson Tide have waited two months to avenge their 9-6 loss to LSU on Nov. 5.
For the Tide, the championship game cannot come soon enough, as players are excited both for a rematch and also an opportunity to bring Alabama its 14th national title.
“Most definitely,” linebacker Dont’a Hightower said. “Being in the championship game, it’s the most exciting thing that you can have in the college football career.”
With the long layoff, Tide players have had the opportunity to reflect on the loss, and instead of lamenting in their mistakes, defensive tackle Josh Chapman said the team has grown from the game.
“We’ve learned a lot from that game,” Chapman said. “The game kind of made our season what it is now. It’s about finishing. We didn’t finish that game and didn’t capitalize. [LSU] capitalized on our mistakes, and they finished stronger than we did.”
Both LSU and Alabama feature powerful sets of running backs, which wear down defenses and fight hard for every yard. Chapman said it would be up to the defense to slow down the Tigers running backs in order to get the victory.
“That’s going to be a game that’s going to be won at the line of scrimmage,” Chapman said. “We’re going to go out and dominate those guys.”
Another big aspect to the Tigers attack is dual-threat quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Jefferson’s real weapon is his running ability.
“We need to shut him down,” linebacker Dont’a Hightower said. “We need to keep him contained, keep him in the pocket.”
Hightower praised Jefferson, saying he was one of the toughest quarterbacks in college football. The Tide will look to hit Jefferson early and often in order to prevent him from breaking free and making game-changing plays.
“I hit him a couple times, and he just got right back up,” Hightower said. “ That just shows what kind of player he is, he’s a real tough player. Hopefully we can not let him make those big plays he has made all year.”
Many were upset at the result of the two teams last meeting, as neither team was able to reach the end zone. The game, deemed boring by some, was a perfect display of hard-fought football in the mind of Hightower.
“Whoever said this game is boring is not a defensive-minded person,” Hightower said. “That’s why I like the SEC, you don’t have to score 80 points to win the game. Any game that is 9-6 shows how well the game was played.”
The linebacker said watching the high-scoring results of other BCS games cemented the fact that Alabama and LSU deserved to play for the title.
Hightower and the Tide will get their long-awaited chance at redemption as Alabama’s defense looks to shut down the Tigers and claim the title.
“I’m ready for this game,” Hightower said. “I’ve been waiting for this game all this year and we made it here and we’re going to make sure we try to play it right.”
