Kickoff: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Alabama -6.5, Total: 45.5

In yet another huge SEC matchup, No. 4 Alabama and No. 14 LSU will go at it in Baton Rouge on Saturday night.

The Crimson Tide are getting it done in their usual fashion this year with the 23-17 loss against Ole Miss as their sole blemish on an otherwise perfect SU season. They have not been good to bettors though, with a meager 2-5 record ATS as they have been double-digit favorites in 6-of-8 contests. Last week they also failed to cover while giving 19.5 points to Tennessee in a 34-20 game in which Alabama put up 469 yards of total offense. The Crimson Tide seemed to really ease up on the Vols as they took an early 27-0 lead but then were outscored 20-7 over the final two-and-a-half quarters while turning the ball over twice. The Tigers have had some big wins this year as they defeated both Wisconsin (28-24) to kick of the year and Ole Miss (10-7) last week. Unfortunately, they have not been able to keep winning at a consistent pace and losses to both Mississippi State and Auburn have likely put them out of reach for a playoff or SEC Championship spot. Unlike its counterparts in this contest, LSU has done well for bettors with a 7-2 ATS record and has covered in each of its past three games. The team was a 4.5-point underdog in the most recent game on Oct. 25 versus the Rebels and won despite four turnovers as the two programs combined for 719 yards of offense. This has always been a great matchup while Alabama has won SU (2-1 ATS) in each of the past three seasons while winning by an average of 15.3 PPG in that time. Last year they hosted the Tigers and were two-touchdown favorites as they came away with a solid 38-17 victory while forcing LSU into two turnovers and just 43 yards of rushing. There are some interesting betting trends for both teams in this one as ‘Bama is 21-5 ATS (81%) in road games when coming off a no-cover where the team won as a favorite since 1992, while the Tigers are 12-2 ATS (86%) off an extremely close home win by three points or less over the same timeframe. The only injuries of note are Tide RB T.J. Yeldon (foot) and OT Cam Robinson (undisclosed), who may both be able to play on Saturday after having a bye week to get healthy.

Which SEC powerhouse will prevail on Saturday night? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season. StatFox Gary is heating up with a 67% ATS mark (8-4) in Best Bets over the past four weeks.

As usual, the Crimson Tide have beat teams in multiple ways as they rank in the FBS top-30 in both passing (290.3 YPG) and rushing (218.6 YPG) while scoring a solid 36.5 PPG (19th in nation). They have continued the tradition of having a great team manager under center with QB Blake Sims (2,034 pass yards, 15 TD, 3 INT) who has connected on 66% of his passes for 10.2 YPA. He has thrown for over 300 yards just once this year, but comes into this game with 7 TD and zero interceptions in his past three games while also contributing to the run game as he has 250 rushing yards (5.4 YPC) and 5 TD on the season. The lethal combo of HBs T.J. Yeldon (618 rush yards, 5 TD) and Derrick Henry (530 rush yards, 4 TD) has been a tough backfield for any defense to face as the duo has combined to average 5.1 YPC. Yeldon, who injured his foot in the Tennessee win, has gone over the century mark in yards three times this year while Henry has reached that threshold twice and has a score in each of the past two games. WR Amari Cooper (1,132 rec yards, 9 TD) is unstoppable in the passing game as he ranks second in the nation in receiving yards and is coming off his best game of the year against Tennessee when he gained 224 yards with a pair of TD grabs. Another big reason this team is always a contender is its defense, which ranks second in the nation in points allowed (14.0 PPG) and has not given up more than 23 points to an opponent this season. LB Xzavier Dickson (25 tackles, 6.5 sacks) has had no trouble getting to the quarterback while LB Reggie Ragland (54 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1 INT) leads the team in tackles.

The reason the LSU is not elite this season is its one-dimensional offense that has dominated on the ground to the tune of 225.7 YPG (26th in FBS) while throwing for a mere 188.6 YPG and scoring 32.8 PPG (45th in nation). QB Anthony Jennings (1,190 pass yards, 8 TD, 5 INT) has hit on a meager 50% of his passes while averaging just 16 attempts per game. He has thrown a touchdown in each of his past three performances while also tossing two picks last week in the close game against Ole Miss. The real meat of the offense comes from freshman HB Leonard Fournette (657 rush yards, 7 TD) who has gone over 110 yards in three of his past five games while averaging 5.0 YPC on the year. He is joined in the backfield by HBs Terrence Magee (418 rush yards, 3 TD) and Kenny Hilliard (416 rush yards, 6 TD) who create a tough rotation to defend against. WR Travin Dural (676 rec yards, 7 TD) has emerged as the go-to guy of the receivers while averaging an amazing 25.0 yards per catch, but has a total of just six receptions in the past four games combined. The LSU defense has been very impressive while allowing 15.9 PPG (4th in FBS) to its opponents behind strong performances from LBs Kwon Alexander (57 tackles, 6 TFL), Kendell Beckwith (52 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD) and DL Danielle Hunter (55 tackles, 10 TFL).