TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The video board inside Tiger Stadium will tell a lie on Saturday night. Before games, LSU proudly boasts that “the chance of rain is never” inside Death Valley.
That won’t be the case for this weekend’s matchup between No. 11 Alabama and No. 15 LSU. Depending on the impact of Hurricane Rafael, which is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the week, the Crimson Tide and Tigers could have to deal with some adverse weather on Saturday night.
As of Wednesday morning, the weather forecast for Baton Rouge, Louisiana projects that “Rain showers in the evening will evolve into a more steady rain overnight.” Birmingham meteorologist James Spann posted an early forecast on X Tuesday night, stating, “For now we are not expecting it to rain all night, but showers are certainly possible during the game.”
How does Alabama prepare for the chance of adverse weather? Wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard called it a “slippery slope,” no pun intended.
“Are you mentally handicapping your players because of the things that you are doing, or are you really helping them?” Shephard said when asked if his receivers were participating in wet-ball drills this week. “Certainly we’re doing a good job of trying to mimic the things that we think we’re going to see on game day. However, what we’re going to be playing in is the same thing they’re going to be playing in.”
While the conditions might change Saturday night, Alabama’s expectations won’t.
“You can make an excuse and say the ball was wet,” receiver Kendrick Law said, “but at the end of the day I’ve got a job to do and I need to get it done.”
Law, a Shreveport, Louisiana, native said Alabama’s preparation hasn’t been altered due to the chance of storms Saturday night. The only change he plans to make in the event of rain will be to ditch the gloves he usually wears during games.
“It’s a preference on guys,” Law said. “Like my hands, I like to catch without gloves if it’s raining. Then I’ve got a lot of guys on the team that like to catch with gloves. It’s whatever is going to get the job done for you.”
As for delivering the ball in the rain, Jalen Milroe isn’t too worried about sloppy weather either.
“There’s so many external factors playing on the road,” Milroe said. “That’s just one element that’s added to the game plan and added to our mission moving forward. But I think for us, we just have to have the same mindset and just know that whatever it is, just do it at our best.”
Milroe was on the sidelines last season when Alabama slopped through an ugly 17-3 win at South Florida amid severe rainfall. However, the Katy, Texas product recalled his sophomore year of high school when he led Tompkins to a 15-8 overtime win over Morton Ranch. Milroe completed just 2 of 6 passes for 17 yards but was able to pick up 60 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
“It was a monsoon at that place,” Milroe recalled. “We did everything. We ran the ball, we threw the ball. Nothing changed. The only thing that did change is the receivers took their gloves off. Besides that, we was all good.
“It’s the same thing for [the quarterbacks]. We just know that the ball’s wet, so you definitely have to have a towel at the center position and at the quarterback position.”
Regardless of the conditions Alabama (6-2, 3-2 in the SEC) won’t have much room for error against LSU (6-2, 3-2) in what figures to be a do-or-die matchup for both teams in terms of playoff implications.
“Our backs are to the wall, so we're going to fight,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Each and every day we're going to fight, scratch and claw like you've never seen, and that continues on this week.”
