The stage is set for the Allstate BCS Championship Game this January in New Orleans, as the country’s top two teams converge on the Mercedes Benz Superdome to determine which team deserves to be called national champion. While it may not project to have the same offensive flare as this year’s Rose Bowl or Fiesta Bowl, the BCS got it right by lining up the No. 1 LSU Tigers and No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in an SEC rematch for the title, as they were undoubtedly the top two NCAA football teams in the nation all year.

While the sports betting players that wagered on LSU the first time around will argue that the Tigers already proved they were the better team with a 9-6 overtime win at Tuscaloosa, an overtime kick is hardly enough to decide which program is actually stronger, especially considering that the Crimson Tide missed a ridiculous three field goals throughout the contest, which easily would have swung the result in their favor even before the extra period. Alabama head coach Nick Saban has to be having nightmares about those missed kicks, and while the Tigers do deserve to be called No. 1 at this point based on their resume this year, the Tide can change the perception of which program is better with a response on the biggest stage of them all. There is no denying the defensive element of this game with the top two defenses in the nation set to go head-to-head, but this game could feature more offense than expected as Alabama looks to prove it is not the underdog that the sportsbooks have labeled it as.