Alabama football will head back on the road this week and face LSU as the Crimson Tide looks for its first SEC victory under coach Kalen DeBoer.

The stakes are anything but low. The winner will keep its playoff hopes alive. The loser will all but be eliminated from CFP contention.

No. 11 Alabama will face No. 14 LSU on Saturday, Nov. 9 (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Ahead of the matchup, here’s what Alabama coordinators Kane Wommack and Nick Sheridan said about LSU.

“It’ll be a great challenge,” Wommack said, “one I’m certain our players are looking forward to on Saturday.”

Alabama vs LSU: What DC Kane Wommack said about the Tigers

During his Monday press conference, Alabama’s defensive coordinator fielded questions about quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, receiver Kyren Lacy and tight end Mason Taylor.

On Taylor, Wommack said he’s as good of a tight end as Alabama has seen this season.

“Another guy, when the game is on the line, he continues to show up in those big moments,” Wommack said. “He will make contested coaches. Just even being body on body, the guy can make those contested type throw and catch.”

This season, the son of NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor has caught 39 passes for 369 yards and two touchdowns.

Taylor was the player who caught the game-winning two-point conversion in 2022 against Alabama. Wommack wasn‘t with the Crimson Tide then, but Taylor seems to have made a significant pressure on Alabama’s defensive coordinator.

“The dude takes pride in not coming off the field,” Wommack said. “You can tell that’s kind of a thing. They constantly are keeping him on the field and having different groupings and packages around him. Tight ends man, when you have a good tight end that can do things in the run game well enough and then ultimately be dynamic in the passing game, that’s why those guys are so valuable in the professional league right now. They’re rare but they’re really hard to defend for a number of reasons. We’ll have our work cut out for us.”

That will also likely be the case with receiver Kyren Lacy. LSU‘s leading pass catcher has secured 41 passes for 618 yards and six touchdowns this season. Those are similar numbers to Alabama’s leading receiver Ryan Williams.

“Long physical presence,” Wommack said of Lacy. “Does a great job with the ball in the air. I think he makes contested catches. I think he’s grown so much as a route runner. And really, you know someone that you can tell that Nussmeier really trusts to get the ball to, even in situations where he’s got body on body to go make a play for him. So very impressed with his skillset. I mean, he’s got all the tools and can run and make contested catches and the makings of a great receiver.”

Speaking of Nussmeier, Wommack compared the LSU quarterback to former NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.

“If you can find creative ways to give them different looks and pictures, you’re going to give yourself an opportunity to take the ball away,” Wommack said. “At the same time, this dude has made a lot of plays being the guy he is. He’s an aggressive player. Think about… Brett Favre threw a lot of picks in his career, but he also made a hell of a lot of plays. This guy has really done some similar things in that regard. Some of that you live with a little bit as an offense, but from a defensive perspective, we need to make sure … Taking the ball off people is really the identity of who we are as a defense. That needs to show up on Saturday night.”

Alabama vs LSU: What OC Nick Sheridan said

The Tigers rank sixth in the country in sacks per game with 3.5 per game, so Alabama’s offensive will have its hands full.

“Certainly they’re very disruptive,” Sheridan said. “I think that jumps off the film The production of the front seven players, you know, both the edges, linebackers, interior players. They have had a lot of success that way. And I think the way that you try to counter that is similar, no matter who you’re going against, is to try to stay out of those situations that are pretty obvious passing situations where they really can pin their ears back and rush.”

So, Sheridan said it will be key for Alabama to efficient and effective on first and second down. That will help prevent third-and-long situations.

“So making sure that we’re balanced and staying out of some of those situations where it’s friendly for good pass rushers, I think that’ll be important for us.”