Series History: LSU and Alabama and the era that was

By Hunt Palmer

The LSU-Alabama rivalry defined a generation.

Over the SEC’s deeply storied history, a few matchups have done the same. LSU and Ole Miss headlined the 50s. Spurrier and Fulmer played the game of the year in the 90s. The Iron Bowl stands atop college football’s rivalry list.

From 2007 to 2019, nothing outshined LSU-Alabama.

The SEC secured one annual primetime slot for CBS. It almost always featured the Tigers and Tide. The rivalry was one-sided. Alabama won eight in a row from the 2012 National Championship game through 2018, but LSU threw its punches and kept up with Alabama as an NFL assembly line year over year.

Nick Saban created a crimson-clad machine that essentially issued a Heisman Trophy to those who could take it down. From 2012 to 2021, only Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, Joe Burrow and an Ole Miss team that used a fluky fumbled snap that turned to a tipped touchdown escaped Tuscaloosa with a win.

Over that same time period, LSU never beat Alabama in Tiger Stadium. That streak stretched from 2008 to 2022. Furthermore, LSU hasn’t beaten LSU without a Heisman winner under center since 2011.

Kirby Smart eventually created his own machine in Athens, and LSU has slipped since 2019. LSU-Alabama still means a lot to those in Baton Rouge, but the star has faded from the rivalry nationally as the Tigers have stepped back from college football’s center stage.

Still, the memories of this one transcend time.

Oddly, the home team has had its struggles in the rivalry. LSU didn’t beat Alabama in Baton Rouge between 1969 and 2000, a stretch of 31 years. On the flip side, LSU won two of the first three games against Saban in Tuscaloosa. Joe Burrow then silenced Bryant-Denny in 2019. DeVonta Smith did the same a year later in an empty Death Valley. Saban won six of his first seven in Baton Rouge as a visitor.

Alabama will always have Auburn, and a huge faction of the Crimson Tide fanbase points to Tennessee well before sending eyes to Baton Rouge, but this battle did help define the first quarter of the 2000s.

Here are some of my favorites.

ROHAN AND REED

In 2001, Rohan Davey and Josh Reed put on a show in Tuscaloosa. The eventual Biletnikoff winner hauled in 19 passes for 293 yards, both SEC records. Davey finished with 528 passing yards, an LSU record, as the Tigers beat Alabama 35-21.

Reed’s record stood for 11 years before Cobi Hamilton of Arkansas broke it against Rutgers. It’s now held by Kayshon Boutte, who went for 303 yards against Ole Miss in 2020.

GAME OF THE CENTURY

To this day, I’ve never been in a stadium that felt like Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 5, 2011. It was full an hour before kickoff. Celebrities lined both sidelines.

Forty five players from that game were eventually drafted, 14 in the first round, six more in the second. That’s 20 top-64 picks on one field. For perspective, the University of Texas has had 20 since 2009. That’s 16 years. This was one game.

Because of the defensive dominance, every snap felt like it could decide the game. No, there wasn’t a single touchdown scored that night. Yes, the national title game fell flat. Until my last day, no one will ever convince me it wasn’t one of the greatest college football games ever played.

I’m going to type 150 words on it here without describing a single play, and the readers will still have vivid memories of what we all watched that night.

JOE VS TUA

No matchup in the storied history of the rivalry featured as much offensive firepower as the 2019 tilt. Joe Burrow is the greatest passer in LSU history. Tua Tagovailoa was Alabama’s first ever consensus All-American quarterback. Ja’Marr Chase won the Biletnikoff Award that year. DeVonta Smith won it the next on his way to the Heisman. Those two were joined by Justin Jefferson and Jerry Jeudy, as well as Terrace Marshall and Henry Ruggs. Jaylen Waddle was there, too. In all, six wide outs from the game were taken in the first round. Najee Harris, Alabama’s all-time leading rusher, carried the ball for the Tide. Clyde Edwards-Helaire did so for LSU. They were both first round picks.

LSU outscored Alabama 46-41 on the way to the national title.

WHERE ARE WE NOW

Saban and Les Miles have retired. Ed Orgeron, who claimed “we’re going to kick their ass every time we see them,” is gone. So is Brian Kelly, who started his LSU tenure 1-0 against the Tide. There are too many indelible moments to count in the series. The teams played to overtime in 2005, 2008, 2014 and 2022. The screen to Yeldon in 2012. Fournette versus Henry for the Heisman in 2015.

This year doesn’t carry that type of energy entering the week. Kalen DeBoer is trying to carve his legacy in T-Town, and Frank Wilson is trying to keep things afloat at LSU.

The point spread is almost two touchdowns.

But for four hours on Saturday those Crimson helmets will clash with LSU’s classic white jerseys. It’s a beautiful aesthetic steeped in tradition.

LSU hung tough in Tuscaloosa against the odds in 2021 with a coach on his way out. They’ll try to do that same on Saturday.

OVERALL SERIES: 57–27–5, Alabama

IN TUSCALOOSA: 15-10, Alabama

IN BATON ROUGE: 30-10-2, Alabama