Rivalries in college football are not born only from nearby towns. Sometimes they grow from hurt feelings that last for years. When ESPN host Rece Davis talked about the toughest places to play, he pointed to the Alabama-LSU battles in Baton Rouge and said a “wound” from Nick Saban’s story there never really healed over time.
“Probably any of the Alabama-LSU games over the years when they were in Baton Rouge, because that wound didn’t heal even over time, even after LSU won,” Davis said on The Next Round.
Nick Saban joined the LSU Tigers after the 1999 season and spent the next four seasons there. Before he left in 2004, he won the BCS National Championship in 2003, and left a year later to join the Miami Dolphins, where he did not enjoy much success. However, the Alabama head coaching role became vacant not too long after, and Saban made the move.
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This was where the battle line was drawn with LSU, as Saban’s former program felt he should have returned to Baton Rouge after leaving the NFL. Rather than appreciate him for his exploits at LSU, the Tigers deemed him guilty of betrayal. And what better way to avenge than to make their games against him more hostile than ever before?
The fixture got the name “Saban Bowl,” and the atmosphere in Baton Rouge was always harsh on Saban. But it was noise from a familiar place, and he only used it to cheer his team on. Saban dominated the matchup for years. Notably, they won the 2012 BCS National Championship in a 21-0 blowout of LSU.
Saban’s brilliance made it look like LSU fought a giant bigger than them over these years. But things have changed now, with Saban now retired and the Tigers making their reception warmer for the legend.
“So, I think the times that we’ve been there, prior to Nick joining the show, Nick was still coaching. He’s welcomed with open arms now that he’s with us, which is really cool to see because he has so many great friends still in Louisiana. Great respect for all of those people who helped him rebuild LSU at the time when he was there. But I would say LSU-Alabama games are probably the most vitriolic,” Davis added.
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One thing Saban must be lauded for is his coaching excellence amid all of these. While he was with the LSU Tigers, he had a 4-1 winning record against Alabama. And when he joined Alabama, he had a 12-4 record against the LSU Tigers.
LSU-Alabama game to be suspended after 63 years
Alabama leads the series 58-27-55 with 5 ties. Despite being played annually for over 60 years, the series will not be held in 2027 and 2029. The only way the fixture continues is if both teams meet in the College Football Playoff. The SEC just adopted a nine-game conference schedule, and one of its accompanying changes is that the two rivals were not paired as annual opponents from 2026 to 2029.
Replacing LSU, Alabama’s yearly opponents will now be Mississippi State, along with Auburn and Tennessee. On the other hand, LSU’s annual opponents will be Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. The 2026 game is in Baton Rouge, while the 2028 matchup will be played in Tuscaloosa.
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LSU Tigers also had a national championship win while Saban was with the Crimson Tide, defeating Clemson Tigers 42-25 and becoming champions in January 2020. But as long as Saban remained, the wound did not heal.
Only Saban’s retirement made this less hostile. And perhaps, the one-year break since 1964 will even add some more calmness to the fixture. LSU is now the villain and should be expecting a similar treatment when they travel to Oxford to play Ole Miss, seeing how chaotic Lane Kiffin’s exit from the program was.
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