 "Photo: Dave Martin / The Associated Press")
War Eagle.
They're two of the most taboo words in the LSU fan dictionary, but saying them will be a necessary evil this Thanksgiving weekend.
Auburn plays Alabama this weekend in Auburn, and LSU fans should be pulling wholeheartedly for the other Tigers.
The Bayou Bengals don't need any help advancing to the Southeastern Conference or national championship games. Just win and they're in.
But looking way too far into the future, should LSU win out and be sitting pretty at No. 1 with a 13-0 record, there is no reason for the Tiger faithful to pull for a rematch with Alabama.
LSU has already beaten Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Why play them again?
The Crimson Tide has the No. 1 overall defense in the country, which held LSU to nine points in the teams' first meeting.
The other most logical choices to play the Tigers if Alabama loses would be No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Stanford.
The Cowboys' defense is 67th in the country, giving up 27.3 points per game. The unit held just two opponents to less than 24 points and was especially porous in the 37-31 double-overtime loss to Iowa State this past weekend.
Oklahoma State's offense scores the second most points the country, averaging just less than 50 points per game.
LSU's defense allows just 10 points per contest and faced a near clone of the Cowboys' offense earlier this season at West Virginia. Mountaineers head coach, Dana Holgorsen, was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State last season and groomed senior quarterback Brandon Weeden into what he is today.
The next choice in the revolving door of national title contenders is Stanford, which just two weeks ago fell victim to Oregon, 53-30.
The Cardinals also put up points at a frantic pace, posting 45 points per game. Stanford plays stiffer defense than Oklahoma State, surrendering just 20.9 per game, but against the Ducks it showed team speed is not one of its attributes.
Throughout the course of LSU's 52-3 dismantling of Ole Miss, there were small pockets of LSU fans drumming up the "We want ‘Bama" chants, implying they want a rematch for the national title.
Sure, beating the Crimson Tide twice in the same season is a magnificent thought to the purple and gold homers, but it's not the smartest plan if the ultimate goal is truly to win the national title.
When the Tigers and Tide squared off Nov. 5, it was like trying to tell the difference between identical twins. There are small distinctions that give one away from the other, but by-and-large they look the same.
The only weakness Alabama showed in that game was its long-range field goal kicking.
Oklahoma State and Stanford have shown glaring weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball this season and pose a much smaller threat to LSU than Alabama.
There's an old sports cliche that says if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.
The Tigers will have to beat No. 3 Arkansas this Friday to advance to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game, and aside from the Razorbacks, the best team outside of LSU is Alabama.
LSU has already beaten the best — on its home field. There's nothing for LSU to gain by pulling for the two teams to play again.
Rob Landry is a 23-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville. Follow him on Twitter @RobLandry85.
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Contact Rob Landry at rlandry@lsureveille.com
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