Alabama Football 2026 vs. LSU Preview: Q&A with Zach Junda

As a longstanding friend of the blog, our pal Zach Junda from LSUWire.com joins us once (I think this is 8 years in a row?) before the Tide and LSU finally go separate ways next season. Enjoy the questions and answers on Zach’s thoughts about LSU below:

RBR QA

Give it to me straight: Are you a Lane Kiffin supporter now that we’re 8 games in?

Brent let me tell ya something. Lane Kiffin is a damn fine human being and an even finer head coach. Lane Kiffin is the epitome of class, honor, dignity, and definitely doesn’t have a crippling addiction to sorority girls.
But seriously: I’m fairly happy with the Lane Kiffin Era through eight games. They’re scoring a bunch of points and gaining a ton of yards like any Lane Kiffin Offense is supposed to do, and when they win they win completely and thoroughly. There have been just so many hard wins under the last regime. I don’t mean hard as in a “wow both teams are just so good, we really earned this win!” I mean hard as in “this team is absolutely exhausting to watch, it shouldn’t have to look like this.”

I say all that with one major exception: the Kentucky game. Losing at the hornet’s nest that was Ole Miss in September wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but the way in which LSU lost to Kentucky didn’t sit right with people here. For those who don’t recall, LSU had a chance to ice the game with a 4th and 1 at or near midfield, but Kiffin elected to punt and play defense. Was it smart? Sure, considering that Kentucky had no timeouts and the Wildcat offense was spinning its wheels for most of the second half. I can (and still do) understand the logic there.

But you know who punts and plays defense? Brian Kelly. You spent $91 million on Lane Kiffin, the supposed renegade who will go for ANY fourth down no matter where you are on the field. And on his first real opportunity to be Lane Kiffin he wasn’t true to himself.
I’ll give him credit for this though: since that Kentucky loss, LSU’s been improving on a week-to-week basis, and it feels like this team is starting to become a fully realized national championship contender.

There’s a lot of momentum for LSU right now – even opening up as 5.5 point favorites over the Tide despite being ranked lower. Both teams are 6-2, though. And, in both cases, they’ve lost to really good teams. Is the hype around the Tigers warranted? Or are you still waiting to hang your hat on win against a ranked team that isn’t missing their QB?
It’s a fair question to ask. Just because LSU’s beaten three 4-loss teams in conference doesn’t mean Mardi Gras has come early. The Tigers weren’t ready to play in neither Oxford nor Lexington, so it’s fair to wonder if LSU is just bullying lesser opponents.
On the other hand, if you’ve watched every snap of this season like I have, you’ll see a team that’s finding its footing. They’re No. 1 in the SEC on offense and defense in yards and No. 2 in points. That’s not nothing, and they’ve been blowing people out of the water at home. I know that doesn’t mean much for this particular rivalry (some might call Tiger Stadium “Bryant-Denny West”, not me but some people might say such things) but between how LSU is playing and where they’re playing this weekend, I really like the Tigers’ chances.

We all know Sam Leavitt at this point. But talk about the wide receiver group. None of the names were guys that were household names coming into the season, but Hawaii transfer Jackson Harris has been excellent. Give us a run down of the pass catchers and who we need to be watching.

Thankfully for me tight end Trey’Dez Green returned for the Auburn game after missing about a month with an MCL sprain suffered toward the end of the Ole Miss game. Ironically, it took Green going down and Sam Leavitt tweaking his hamstring for this passing offense to really find its stride. Jackson Harris has made himself so much money since Green got hurt and if he’s not a first round pick, I think he’s at least moved up into a Day Two selection should he declare for this year’s draft.
Winnie Watkins followed Kiffin from Ole Miss and made a big splash early, but has been struggling lately. Come to find out he’s battling a torn ligament in his thumb, but he’s gutting it out. True freshman Corey Barber (an Alabama native) has taken some reps from Watkins, and former Florida Gator Tre’ Wilson has been a pretty solid No. 3 with 27 catches for 284 yards. The most pleasant surprise has been the emergence of Dilin Jones catching balls out of the backfield. He’s not only LSU’s leading rusher, but he’s third on the team with 30 receptions.

The LSU defense SHOULD be terrifying. They have some of the best pass rushers in the country, Blake Baker is a known commodity at DC, and, for the most part, they have the stats. But what did Kentucky and Ole Miss do to get into the 30s, and is that something you think Alabama could copy to try and replicate those results?

LSU Twitter still gripes about Blake Baker. Is his defense really as good as the stats suggest or did you just bully Marcel Reed, a Kamario Taylor-less Miss State and Byrum Brown? But in three years with Baker LSU’s gone from a top-60 defense to top-30, to now a top-10 unit so clearly he’s doing something right.
As for what lessons can Alabama take away? I think with Ole Miss specifically that was just Trinidad Chambliss being Trinidad Chambliss, which is to say arguably the best quarterback in the country. You can’t just “do” that. Kentucky’s a different story, Baker had the secondary giving too much cushion for my liking, and Kenny Minche was only sacked once.

Give me two players on offense and two on defense that you haven’t already talked about and you feel the burning need to talk about.

Jordan Seaton at left tackle was money well spent by LSU as the preseason All-American is projected to be either the first or second offensive linemen taken in the draft. Opposite of him, right tackle Weston Davis has really started to tap into the five-star billing he had coming out of high school. Davis has gone from practically unplayable to a quality starter (though his runblocking grades aren’t great) and he’ll need to be at his best against the best.
Defensively I am so, so excited about freshman defensive tackle Deuce Geralds. LSU hasn’t had a Glenn Dorsey type of DT in a while, but I’m telling you they’ve got something in Geralds. He’s what Maason Smith or Dom McKinley should have been, which is to say a difference maker in the middle. I’ve also been very impressed with safety Ty Benefield, who came to LSU via the portal from Boise State. Benefield’s been playing more of the STAR position since DaShawn Spears was lost for the year with an ACL injury, and he’s been the face of an LSU secondary that does a lot of things well.

What are your overall impressions of Alabama, both this season and in context of the Kalen DeBoer era thus far? I always like to see how opposing fans actually feel about us. Are we actually a top ten team?

I think Alabama is Just Another Good Team, which is a far cry from where they were. My wife, who knows nothing about football, wanted to watch the Saban documentary and I had to explain to her that when he had that Bama Machine humming there was this feeling of dread having to play them every year. It had to take a perfect game on your end, plus some dumb luck, to come out with a win. Now that feeling of invincibility is gone; and I know that’s really rich of me to say that considering DeBoer is 2-0 against LSU and he emptied out Tiger Stadium in 2024, but I don’t fear Alabama like I used to.
Now (Barack Obama voice) let me be clear: in no world is Alabama a top-5 team in the country, be so serious CFP Committee. Unless of course if this is all a plot to enhance LSU’s résumé with a top-5 win, then I’m in complete lockstep with the committee. Remember: corruption is only bad if I’m not involved. But if I’m part of that corruption, I’ll defend it

If LSU is going to win, they have to exploit what weakness? And vice versa for if Alabama is going to win?

If Alabama is as banged up on the offensive line as the injury reports suggest, then I think Blake Baker is gonna try and make Keelon Russell’s life miserable. There is such a thing as being too aggressive, but I want to see Russell earn it against *this* defense in *this* stadium. If he can, I’ll tip my cap.
As far as what Alabama can do, this is the best defense LSU will have faced all season long. Can they speed Sam Leavitt up and get him to make poor decisions? He hasn’t turned it over the past two games, but he had what would have been a hideous interception against Auburn overturned on video review. Turnover Sam is probably still in there, and I’m not so sure LSU’s offensive line can give him clean pockets.

What’s your game prediction?

I don’t like how confident I am, but I really think LSU’s better than Alabama. I think LSU’s been getting better every single week, and with them controlling their CFP destiny you’re going to see a focused and motivated team with a rabid crowd behind them. I’m confident that Russell’s road woes continue, and I don’t think Alabama’s offense can keep up with LSU’s if this turns into a shootout.

Looking at the SEC at large, you think Kentucky has any shot of getting though Tennessee, Florida, and Missouri and riding into the SEC Championship game as likely the #3 team in the country at that point? And will anyone knock off Georgia?

I keep waiting for the shoe to drop with Kentucky. Maybe it does and they end up nosediving like Texas A&M last year. Or maybe they’re last year’s Indiana where the shoe never drops and we’re all saying “Kentucky won the national championship? In FOOTBALL?” I’m wondering how Kentucky handles the spotlight, and ultimately I think the jig is up Saturday night in Neyland.
As for Georgia? What if LSU wins out and makes it to Atlanta? That would mean they beat Bama, Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas and would head into an SEC Championship game on a six-game win streak with some major wins along the way. It’s a homer pick I know, but I really think this LSU team is gelling at the right time.