Alabama and LSU prepare for their last annual meeting, something Lane Kiffin calls 'sad'

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama and LSU have spent decades giving college football fans a reason to mark their calendars.

Next year, those fans will have to find another game.

The longtime Southeastern Conference opponents have played every season since 1964, a stretch that will end after No. 9 Alabama visits No. 15 LSU on Saturday. The series will resume in Tuscaloosa in 2028, but its annual place on the schedule is going away.

A matchup that has helped decide national championships didn’t make the cut when the SEC selected three annual opponents for each school under its new nine-game conference schedule.

LSU coach Lane Kiffin called the change “sad.”

“And I understand, so I’m not being critical,” he said Monday. “All the decisions, usually, I think all of them probably really come down to money, whether that’s the realignments, whether that’s the rivalries. So, 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.”

There’s still plenty riding on this one.

The Crimson Tide and Tigers are both 6-2, with the loser facing a more difficult path to the College Football Playoff. Alabama was fifth in the selection committee’s initial rankings Tuesday, while LSU came in 14th.

For LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, reminders of the game’s importance come well before he reaches the practice field. Fans tell him to beat Alabama when he goes to the store or gets food.

He grew up in Oregon, but Alabama-LSU was a game he made time to watch.

“Being from the West Coast and, you know, fantasizing about watching a game down here, not being a part of it, uh, it’s a surreal and special experience,” Leavitt said Tuesday.

The expanded conference schedule gives each school three annual opponents and six rotating matchups. Every team will face each SEC opponent at least once every two years and home and away over four years.

Alabama will play Auburn, Tennessee and Mississippi State annually. LSU’s annual opponents are Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas A&M.

The league considered traditional rivalries, competitive fairness and geography, among other factors, in making those matchups. Annual opponents will be evaluated after each four-year cycle.

Alabama-LSU was left among the rotating games.

“And there’s really good things that have changed in college football over the years, but there’s also a lot that I think myself and a lot of people wish that they were the way that they were, rivalries and conferences the same,” Kiffin said. “And so unfortunately it’s where we are that really doesn’t seem like much is going to be protected when it comes to TV contracts and money and other people’s ideas.”

Kiffin has experienced the matchup from Alabama’s sideline, too. He spent three seasons as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator from 2014-16 under Nick Saban.

Saban’s connection to both programs helped turn an established conference series into one of the sport’s biggest games.

Saban led LSU to the 2003 national championship before leaving for the NFL. He took over at Alabama in 2007, putting him across the field from the program he had helped build.

By the 2011 season, the teams were competing for more than the SEC West.

No. 1 LSU beat No. 2 Alabama 9-6 in overtime in Tuscaloosa. Two months later, they met again in New Orleans with the national championship on the line. Alabama won 21-0.

The rematch started an eight-game Crimson Tide winning streak in the series, one LSU ended with a 46-41 victory in 2019 on its way to an undefeated national championship season.

The Tigers delivered another memorable finish in 2022, winning 32-31 in overtime in Baton Rouge.

Alabama linebacker Yhonzae Pierre grew up in the state watching those matchups. Asked Tuesday about his memories of LSU games, he pointed to what they mean for the players involved.

“We going to be remembered by it,” Pierre said.

Neither team has much room for another loss.

Alabama beat Texas A&M 31-20 before its bye week, ending a two-game skid. The Crimson Tide now head back on the road after losing at Tennessee in its previous trip away from Tuscaloosa.

LSU has its own difficult stretch ahead, with No. 10 Texas and No. 16 Tennessee following Alabama.

Leavitt said Tuesday, before the first CFP rankings were released, that he wasn’t concerned with where the Tigers would land.

“Hearing the rankings right now, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Winning Saturday would give either team another result to build its postseason case around. It would also give its fans something they’ve had the chance to claim every season for more than six decades: a win over the other side.

Next year, that opportunity won’t be there.

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