By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL/Designated Writers

In case you haven’t heard, this is LSU-Alabama week, which means there will be all sorts of pre-game analysis for you to digest. But if you are looking for how Alabama’s Cover 2 is going to slow down LSU’s passing game or the intricacies of the zone read, you’re in the wrong spot.

My distinguished DW co-founder has covered more of these games than I have, but I did cover one. Sort of.

It was 1979 and I was a sports editor of The Tech Talk. But through various connections (I had spent the previous summer as an intern at the Shreveport Journal), I was able to finesse a sideline pass to this game.

I did not write a Pulitzer prize-winning story about the 3-0 Alabama win. In fact, I didn’t write a word. I carried a camera to make it look good and there’s a really good chance there wasn’t even any film in the camera.

Here’s what I remember about that night:

** Before the game, I was standing in the end zone when Alabama Coach Bear Bryant, as was his custom, leaned against the goal posts and watched the warmup. As I stood 10 feet away from him, I wondered two things: (1) What would he say if I leaned on the other side of the goalposts and just started chatting him up? (2) how far could I get if I ran up, grabbed his hounds tooth hat and took off?

** It was raining the entire night and was more than a little bit miserable. Because of the conditions, it was one of only two times in my entire life I have worn boots. (The other time was in a Halloween costume situation). My brother, who was in law school at LSU at the time, figured it might be a better idea than the tennis shoes I had on. They don’t call them “counselors” for nothing.

** These days, you almost need to have top-level security clearance to get on a college football sideline, but back at that time, they just gave you an armband. Because it was wet the whole night, mine began to split in half during the first half. It was a moment begging for some college hijinks, so I spotted one of my best friends (an LSU student) in the stands and I managed to peel off one half of the armband, stick it to his sleeve and sneak him on the sideline. Only half of each of our credential was visible but no one in authority either noticed or cared. To this day, we still laugh about how two 20-year-old college students were on the sideline for a memorable game.

** It was Charlie McClendon’s last LSU-Alabama game. He was removed at Tigers coach in great part for his inability to beat the Crimson Tide. So he was one touchdown away from keeping his job?

** It was a year in which both the No. 1 (Alabama) and No. 2 (USC) teams in the final AP poll came to Baton Rouge. Even though I was not an LSU student, I managed to attend both games – and didn’t pay to see either game. (My Tech roommate was from Baton Rouge and his parents had season tickets. For some reason, they passed on USC.)

** It was the last national championship team for Bear Bryant, but give the Bama faithful a little more time and they’re sure to find a few more they can lay claim to.

** Tell me again about how that “it never rains in Tiger Stadium” thing works?