How the LSU/BAMA game will be won

You can analyze the coaching matchup, the talent, and the history. You can beat a dead horse with how great of a coach Saban is or you can repeatedly mull the fact that LSU has consistently remained inconsistent. All of the measurable factors of this game will lead you to suspect a certain outcome of the game. It is however the unmeasurable factors of this game that will determine the outcome of this SEC heavyweight bout.

Using one of Coach Les Miles' favorite phrases to describe this most important attribute, I present to you "the want." It is the want of these teams that will decide the victor. Who in this matchup wants it the most? LSU has been caught in the offseason wearing t-shirts with the message "take the leAd." That capital "A" of course being in a familiar script that surely burned a message into the minds of the tigers. 

                                                                               via cdn3.sbnation.com

Alabama in control of it's own destiny, surely has the desire to repeat as SEC and national champions. They've been told over and again that they have to prove their worth and that they're not last year's team. Do these players on this bama team have what it takes to take down the tigers for the third straight time? And don't think the tigers have forgotten this little tid-bit. Ask Tiger tailback Stevan Ridley. "We circled that one on the schedule," Ridley said. "We definitely want that win. I don't think we need any more motivation. We've lost to Alabama two straight years now. We're going out there with something on our mind and on a mission to beat 'Bama." 

Certainly both teams need this win to stay in the conference race, but who will push their team to the next level? Who has the ability to notice the one loss on their record and use it as fuel? When considering "the want factor" it is necessary to evaluate the rivalry in the eyes of each team. While Alabama might be thinking of how epic a win in the iron bowl could be to propel them back into the limelight, it is apparent that LSU has one rival they want to beat more than any others. According to LSU corner Mo Claiborne, the Alabama game, "In my eyes, [is] just bigger than the others. I haven't been around much, but since I've been here I've been hearing the talk and people pumping it up."  LSU guard Josh Dworaczyk went on to say, "as far as the recent rivalry with LSU, there's been a lot of great games. It's always the game for LSU."

It remains to be seen on the field how much these teams really want to taste a victory on their way to further defining a successful season. Alabama and Nick Saban are typically a team of composure and one that let's their smash-mouth style of play depict their desire to be the best. No doubt that they will continue this trend. These two teams are two of the more talented in the country and it  will be a downright physical, hard-fought game. Alabama will enter tiger stadium looking to overpower the tigers and pound them into the the dust. "With every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Or at least the tigers hope so. The team winning this tug-o-war will be the one that finishes with nothing in the tank, leaving it all on the field, and using nothing but fumes for the final blow. The want factor prevails. Stevan Ridley, will certainly have more to say Saturday after stating, "Oh yeah, definitely, Alabama's our rivalry. You know your big games. It's like the holidays. When a holiday's coming up, you get nervous and you get excited." What a holiday it'll be. Happy Saturday!