Alabama and LSU play final regular season meeting before scheduling shakeup

College football fans will have to find a new yearly ritual starting in 2027.

No. 9 Alabama visits No. 15 LSU on Saturday in Tuscaloosa for what will be the last annual meeting between the two schools. The series, which has run without a break since 1964, will not return to the schedule until 2028. The Southeastern Conference selected only three annual opponents for each member under its new nine-game conference format, leaving Alabama and LSU as rotating rivals.

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin described the change as sad but understandable. He noted on Monday that financial factors often drive decisions about rivalries and conference realignment. Kiffin said, “I think it’s all sad in general in the big picture of things that money drives to make (changes to) such great traditions and rivalries.” He has coached from both sides of this matchup, serving as Alabama’s offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2016.

Both teams enter Saturday’s game with a 6-2 record. A loss will complicate the path to the College Football Playoff. Alabama was ranked fifth in the selection committee’s initial rankings released Tuesday, while LSU sat at 14th. The teams have met in high-stakes situations before. In 2011, No. 1 LSU beat No. 2 Alabama 9-6 in overtime in Tuscaloosa. They met again two months later in the national championship game, where Alabama won 21-0. That victory began an eight-game winning streak for Alabama in the series.

LSU ended that streak in 2019 with a 46-41 win, a result that helped the Tigers secure an undefeated national championship. The Tigers also won a tight 32-31 overtime contest in Baton Rouge in 2022. Alabama linebacker Yhonzae Pierre, who grew up watching these games, said the players are aware of the history. “We going to be remembered by it,” Pierre said Tuesday.

LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, who grew up in Oregon, said fans often remind him of the game’s importance in his daily life. He described the experience as surreal because he spent years watching the matchup from the West Coast. “Hearing the rankings right now, it doesn’t matter,” Leavitt said regarding the team's playoff position before the initial rankings dropped. Alabama will play Auburn, Tennessee, and Mississippi State annually under the new schedule, while LSU’s fixed opponents are Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas A&M. The league will evaluate these annual pairings after every four-year cycle.

Saturday’s game offers both teams a chance to strengthen their postseason cases. A win would add another milestone to a rivalry that has defined the SEC for more than six decades. The next time the Crimson Tide and Tigers meet will not be until 2028.