Crowd noise could be difference for Alabama against LSU

The Alabama Crimson Tide host the LSU Tigers in Tuscaloosa on Saturday in a ranked matchup that's do-or-die for the home team's title hopes. Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) is also looking for revenge against LSU (6-2, 4-1) after the Bayou Bengals ended the Tide's championship chances last season.

What's different this year, though, is home field advantage, which aligns well with the best part of Alabama's team. These SEC West teams are putting strength against strength on Saturday, with LSU's top-ranked offense and Heisman hopeful quarterback Jayden Daniels facing off against Alabama's top-20 defense.

Two weeks ago against Tennessee, the raucous crowd played a key role in helping spur a second-half comeback.

Will the Alabama faithful bring the same energy to Bryant-Denny Stadium this week? The players sure seem to hope so, as defensive stars have been asking for fans to bring their best on Saturday.

"It was very loud at Bryant-Denny [against Tennessee], probably the loudest I’ve seen this year," linebacker Chris Braswell said, as reported by Sports Illustrated's Bama Central. "They do a tremendous job making noise and we’ll definitely need that again this week."

Defensive Back Kool-Aid McKinstry agreed, telling the media that he was "excited" about the crowd's volume against the Volunteers.

"I feel like we need the same amount of energy, if not more, for this game," McKinstry explained. "We need the fans to be there. We’re very excited to have the fans at our game, and we want to make the game as hard as we can and make it to our advantage that we have a crowd here that’s on our side."

Last year in Baton Rouge, Daniels torched the Tide defense, including a 25-yard touchdown run on the Tigers' first overtime possession that set up the team's game-winning two-point pass.

A year later, the Crimson Tide are hoping fans can make a difference and perhaps force some miscommunication or mistakes by Daniels. A rowdy Saturday night crowd in Tuscaloosa might do just that.