No. 14 LSU (6-2, 3-1) will host the Alabama Crimson Tide at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, with both programs looking to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

This will be a Top 15 game in Baton Rouge with significant playoff implications.

“The loser of this game says goodbye, goodbye to the season,” SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum told ‘SportsCenter’. “Not literally, but in CFP (College Football Playoff) terms.”

“The loser will have three defeats. There is no way to come back. There will be an SEC championship game. There really won’t be any hope. There are too many schools competing for these general calls for tenders.

What are the latest predictions? Will the Tigers manage to create a surprise at home?

The current buzz on the Southeastern Conference Top 15 clash at Death Valley:

*(All odds according to DraftKings Sportsbook)*

Spread:
– LSU: (+3)
-Alabama: (-3)

Money line:
– LSU: (+120)
-Alabama: (-142)

More/Less:58

The Alabama Crimson Tide are currently a three-point favorite heading into the Week 11 clash. A line that was hovering around the 1.5-point mark a week ago, Vegas continues to lean toward the Tide as a favorite on Saturday evening.

LSU was given 55% of the bets to either pull off an outright victory in an upset Saturday night against the Crimson Tide or cover the spread in a loss by a field goal or less.

The remaining 45% of bets made this week think Alabama will cover the spread by three points and win by a field goal or more.

Looking at Vegas’ predicted betting spread, he estimates the Crimson Tide will defeat the Bayou Bengals by a predicted score of 31-28 in Baton Rouge on Saturday night.

ESPN’s Football Power Index predicts the outcome of every game on the college football slate each week, with the latest results recorded for Week 11.

Now that this weekend’s schedule is getting closer, the FPI has placed an expert prediction for Saturday night in Death Valley.

The model leans heavily toward the Alabama Crimson Tide, with Kalen DeBoer’s club having a 69.8% chance of winning the Southeastern Conference clash.

With that, the Tigers have a 30.2% chance of pulling off the upset at home in a prime-time game.

“In total, the Crimson Tide came in first in 13,960 of the index evaluations. calculations of the game, while the Tigers edged out Bama in the other 6,040 predictions. Alabama should be 7.6 points better than LSU on the same field in the current composition of both teams, according to the model’s latest predictions. »

It’s important to note that Brian Kelly has yet to lose a night game in Baton Rouge, but ESPN’s Football Power Index continues to lean heavily on the Crimson Tide to spoil his hot streak.

CBS Analysts’ Picks: LSU Tigers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

Aaron Taylor: Alabama

“I like Alabama a little more in this game,” Taylor said. “They just had their best ground game of the season,” Taylor said.

Part of his lack of confidence in the Bayou Bengals was largely explained by LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s ineffectiveness against Texas A&M in the second half.

“It’s hard for me to get Nussmeier’s play in that last game (against Texas A&M) out of my mind.”

Rick Neuheisel: Alabama

Neuheisel agreed with Taylor’s thoughts on Nussmeier’s ineffective play; pairing that with LSU’s lack of a rushing attack through eight games of the 2024 season.

“When you factor in the fact that LSU can’t run the football, they’re last in the SEC at running the football, and that puts extra pressure on Garrett Nussmeier.”

Randy Cross and Brian Jones: LSU

Both CBS analysts recorded predictions that the LSU Tigers would enter Death Valley as underdogs and pull out a victory over the Crimson Tide.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly is 13-0 in night games at Tiger Stadium. Now he’ll put his unbeaten streak to the test against Jalen Milroe and the Tide.

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt has his predictions saved for Saturday night in Baton Rouge.

Alabama remains a 2.5-point favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with Klatt also favoring the Crimson Tide.

“Remember, ‘Bama has the win over Georgia. And in this case, I would have them win, at night, at LSU. So they’re in. They’re absolutely in it,” Klatt said of Alabama’s College Football Playoff chances.

The Crimson Tide, like LSU, will be inactive in Week 10 before next Saturday’s clash, but will certainly have all of their momentum heading into November 9.

Coming off a 34-0 win in their last game against Missouri, Alabama is firing on all cylinders heading into next weekend.

“It was a big bounce-back win for Alabama on Saturday, even though it was against a Missouri team that has been overrated since the start of the season. Alabama’s defense played incredibly well after a few weeks of disappointing play,” Klatt said.

“I don’t know what we should take away from this game because I don’t think Missouri is particularly good. But when you win 34-0 against an SEC opponent, that should mean something.”

No. 14 LSU and No. 11 Alabama tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC in a battle to stay alive in the College Football Playoff race.

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers on SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.