It’s BAMA week, the most exciting week of the season for LSU fans. But for students here on campus, it’s BAMA hate week. 
The students may be hopeful for the game, but the bookings do not share their optimism. The Tigers are currently 21 point underdogs. But LSU head coach Ed Orgeron made it clear that neither he nor his players are paying any attention to what the odd makers are getting up to. 
“That don’t mean anything to us. It’s the way you play the game. We’re going in with the mindset that we’re going to win the football game, that’s going to be our attitude,” said Orgeron. 
The Tigers may have the right attitude, but winning still comes down to execution on the field. To do that, LSU will have to overcome Alabama’s defense, which is giving up both the fewest points and yards per game in the country.
To combat that, LSU will need a big game from star running back Derrius Guice. He’s coming off of a 276 yard performance against Ole Miss. But that Rebel defense Guice faced a couple of weeks ago is much weaker than Alabama’s. As Orgeron stated on Monday, for the Tigers to be successful, they’ll have to have a balanced offensive approach. That responsibility falls on senior head quarterback Danny Etling. 
“First of all, Danny has to be very patient, this is his test and he knows it. He has to make the right throws and the right decisions in a big game. Now there were some throws last year that were wide open and he didn’t make them. He’ll realize that. I know we’ll have a better plan this year and I think the offense is working very hard to protect Danny and get the throws out that we can get and run the ball when we can,” said Orgeron. 
The senior signal caller has stepped up his game the past few weeks. He’s coming off a 200 yard, two touchdown performance against Ole Miss and the week before that, he threw for 206 yards and a comeback win over Auburn. Etling has learned a lot since he last took the field against the Tide and he’s using that experience to figure out what he needs to do differently this year to be successful. 
“Capitalize on the opportunities that you have. You always want to make sure that, when there’s a play to be made, you make that play and there’s no slight mishaps or anything like that. You never know what play can change the game, so make sure you attack practice with the intensity of every play matters and so that when the game comes, you can have that same mental focus,” said Etling. 
In last year’s game, the Tigers offense was stagnant, getting shut out with just 125 yards and six first downs. But since that game, the Tigers hired new offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who’s additions of shifting pre-played motion likely got him hired this summer and Orgeron says those elements are what is going to give the Tide some problems. 
“One of the reasons I hired Matt was because of all the shifts and formations and stuff that I thought would give Alabama problems. I think that has done a tremendous job for us this year. Obviously scoring points against these guys is very tough, but I think he’s going to do a very good job of managing the game and taking shots when he can,” said Orgeron. 
On the other side of the ball, the LSU defense has the daunting task of trying to stop Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurtz. Hurtz has nine touchdown passes in the season as well as six on the ground. He has had just one interception and has completed 63% of his passes. So far no one has been able to slow him down, and that’s one of the reasons why Alabama is rolling in at 8 and 0. 
Simply put, for LSU to have any success on Saturday, the offense, defense and special teams will have to play their best game of the season.