National Championship Gamethread: Louisiana State Tigers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

The final game in the 2011 college football season kicks off later tonight, capping a rather bland year for the sport. With the continued struggles of traditional powers, and a dominant run by LSU from the first game to the last, the regular season experienced little drama until the final weeks, when the debate between Alabama and Oklahoma State took center stage.

Alabama won the debate, clearly, and they will face LSU tonight in a rematch from their matchup November 5th. LSU won that game in overtime, on the road in Tuscaloosa, but it was about as even a contest as one could imagine. The Tigers outrushed Alabama, but the Crimson Tide had a more effective passing attack despite two interceptions thrown.

Earlier today, Grantland published Chris Brown's preview of the Alabama running game, which the Tide will need to establish if they stand to pull off the upset. Brown highlights the unique philosophy of Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain, a philosophy that has angered some Alabama fans for being too simple. It's true that the Tide passing game is simple, perhaps painfully so, but the running game has a certain depth to it that Brown illuminates in the piece. McElwain combines single-back principles with multiple tight-end personnel groupings, and LSU is one of the few teams with the size and depth to match the Tide pound-for-pound, which makes it doubly interesting how McElwain adjusts for this second game.

I want LSU to win, purely for the sublimity that would come with Les Miles' second national championship. I have a sneaking suspicion that Nick Saban and his staff will scheme away an upset, though.