Time Out for October 28, 2009

• By GARY LANEY
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Oct 28, 2009 - Page: 1C

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Alabama opened its season with an exclamation point, a 34-24 win over Virginia Tech in a national TV showdown.

The Crimson Tide rode that wave for half the season, dominating opponents through a 22-3 victory over Ole Miss on Oct. 10.

Florida, meanwhile, started the season steamrolling inferior opponents, culminating with a 41-7 trouncing of Kentucky on Sept. 26. Then, after the Tim Tebow concussion scare, the Gators handled LSU 13-3 in perhaps the biggest college football game of the season to date.

It seemed a foregone conclusion the Gators and Tide would meet in the Southeastern Conference championship game with the winner going to the BCS national championship game.

But a funny thing has happened. Both teams have stayed undefeated, but with more pedestrian efforts.

Florida needed overtime to nip Arkansas 23-20 and struggled to a 29-19 win over Mississippi State. Alabama had to battle South Carolina late into the game before surviving 20-6, then needed a couple of blocked field goals to edge Tennessee, 12-10.

The nation’s top two teams are the latest to prove what coaches have known for years: College teams can’t sustain their highest level of play for a whole season.

This could be a good thing for LSU. The Tigers (6-1) have a date with Alabama on Nov. 7 after Saturday’s game against Tulane. It looks like good timing for LSU, which is showing signs of its potential, beginning with its 31-10 win over Auburn.

Before that, LSU struggled through the first half of its schedule with close wins and the Florida loss.

The first half of the Tigers’ season resembled what Florida and Alabama are going through now. When LSU edged Mississippi State with a goal-line stand, was it any different from Alabama surviving Tennessee with a blocked field goal? Was Florida’s needing OT to beat Arkansas different from LSU beating Georgia with a last-minute touchdown?

You knew going into the season that LSU’s peak would come late. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson was too young to be a polished player out of the starting blocks. The defense had a new defensive coordinator, creating a learning curve that has played out. The schedule — relatively soft to start and tougher at the finish — helped a team trying to gear itself to play its best football late.

LSU was lucky to survive its sluggish first half with one loss. Now that Alabama has seemed to hit a bit of a snag, it makes these days leading up to the showdown in Tuscaloosa interesting.

The Tigers have seen what Alabama is now experiencing. In 2007, LSU peaked early in a 48-7 win over Virginia Tech. It continued to play well through early October with a win over Florida.