TRAIN GANG: Hundreds of LSU fans arrive in Tuscaloosa, Ala., via Amtrak for tonight’s showdown. (AP )
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It’s going to be an assault on the senses — all five of them. And it’s going to be a test of physical and mental toughness that will break one team and validate the other.
“Survivor: Tuscaloosa” is here.
No.1 LSU lines up against No.2 Alabama tonight (8, CBS) in Bryant-Denny Stadium in a game that could determine the SEC West champion, the SEC champion and ultimately the BCS national champion.
It is a game so highly anticipated that police here are expecting 103,000-plus for the game and possibly another 100,000 fans without tickets who want to feel the emotional wattage generated by college football fans living the moment.
The sound will be like standing in one of the caves behind Niagara Falls. The sight will be as dazzling as New Year’s Eve in Times Square. The feel will be like standing under a high-voltage electrical tower. The taste will be of fried chicken and barbeque. The smells will be of sweat and beer and perfume and tears, mingling in cool, summer night air.
This is the SEC, the nation’s toughest conference, showing off its two most dominant teams. You can bring the women and children, but please, dress them in Kevlar.
“They’re both very physical on both lines of scrimmage,’’ said Florida coach Will Muschamp. “They run the ball like you need to in this league. That’s why they are where they are and the rest of us right now, this year, are trying to catch up.’’
This will not be a game decided by the wide-open offense of Oklahoma State, or the trickery of Boise State, or the execution of Stanford, the nation’s other three unbeaten teams.
This is LSU (8-0), which has beaten five teams that were ranked at some point this season, winning at Mississippi State and West Virginia and beating Oregon in a neutral-site game. Alabama (8-0) is ranked No. 1 in rushing, scoring and total defense.
These two teams have been so dominant neither has been tested. These two teams, both coming off bye weeks, are as healthy and prepared as can be going into their ninth games.
“If you want to see 1970s smashmouth,” Alabama tight end Michael Williams told reporters in Tuscaloosa, “then this is what you want to see right here.”
LSU agrees.
“It’s a type of game that … you don’t necessarily see too often nowadays,” LSU offensive lineman T-Bob Hebert told reporters in Baton Rouge. “It is a little more old-school, so I think that’ll be something fun to watch for the fans.”
The fans know this: The last five national champs have come from the SEC. No. 6 may well be on the field tonight.
“We finally can say [bring on ’Bama],” LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee said two weeks ago after beating Auburn. “We finally got here. We’ve beaten a lot of teams to get here. We’ve worked hard to get here.’’
Tonight will be the hardest job either team has faced. Tonight, one will triumph and the other will have to find a reason to go on. Survivor: Tuscaloosa. Bring it on.
Survivor: Tuscaloosa
No.1-ranked LSU plays at No.2-ranked Alabama tonight in the most anticipated game of the season. The Post helps you get ready for Survivor: Tuscaloosa.
This showdown of SEC powers is being treated like a Super Bowl in the Southeast.
The Baton Rouge Advocate will publish a 24-page pullout section today on the game. The Birmingham News and its sister papers will have two extra pages of coverage in tomorrow’s paper and had two extra in yesterday’s, bringing the total number of pages to five each day. The News also is reporting that pizzerias in the Tuscaloosa area are doubling their number of delivery personnel today.
