Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama Crimson Tide will face the LSU Tigers in a highly anticipated Southeastern Conference Week 11 clash at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday. This game marks LSU’s first outing since firing Brian Kelly from his head coaching position.

Ahead of the Alabama-LSU showdown, former Alabama coach Nick Saban issued a warning to DeBoer and his team about the potential threat the Tigers pose following Kelly’s departure.

“I think that it’s a very scary situation because it’s very unknown to them,” Saban said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday. “How is LSU’s team going to react to this? And what changes are they going to make? The players have nothing to lose, as you said. So, are they going to play free and easy and just go out and try to play the best football they can? And they probably feel a little disrespected. I’m talking about LSU relative to where they are, their season, how it’s gone, their coach getting fired. So it’ll be interesting to see how they respond.”

Saban also highlighted the strengths of LSU’s defense as a significant challenge for No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0).

“So this is not a game that Alabama can not go out and play their best game of the year because for Alabama to me, LSU has a great secondary,” Saban added. “Alabama’s depended on the forward pass quite a bit this year with the receivers they have in the quarterback and their inability to create consistency in the running game makes this a pretty good matchup for LSU versus their defense versus Alabama’s offense. So it’s going to be a really interesting game to see how LSU’s team responds.”

Following Kelly’s firing, LSU (5-3, 2-3) named Frank Wilson as their interim head coach. Saban, who has extensive experience coaching teams in similar “nothing to lose” situations, knows this could be a pivotal factor. He served as Alabama’s head coach for 17 seasons, winning six national titles, and also won the national championship at LSU in 2004. When Saban stepped down from coaching at Alabama in January 2024, Kalen DeBoer took over the reins.

For Alabama, quarterback Ty Simpson will lead the offense in Week 11 against LSU. Simpson has had a stellar season so far, recording 2,184 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, only one interception, and two rushing touchdowns under DeBoer’s guidance. He is expected to play a key role in this upcoming matchup.

On the other side, Garrett Nussmeier will start as LSU’s quarterback on Saturday, looking to steer his team to victory.

The Alabama-LSU game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET from Bryant-Denny Stadium in Baton Rouge. Fans can watch the game live on ABC or stream it via Fubo.

Stay tuned for what promises to be an exciting and intense SEC showdown.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/college-football/news-kalen-deboer-given-scary-warning-brian-kelly-less-lsu-ahead-alabama-s-high-octane-sec-clash-nick-saban