Alabama played LSU twice in 2011/12. It's not as if LSU had 40 plus points in game one and zero in game two. I don't think they needed an army of analysts to break down the tendencies there (especially for the bowl game) nor do I think they needed that army against ND this year. The quote you provide supports that point.
Does it help? Sure, I suppose so. What also helps is preparing against vanilla schemes.