Before people start biting my head off about the headline of this article, hear me out. I know the last few years this rivalry hasn't had the stakes like an Auburn vs. Alabama game, but it has played a huge part in shaping the wests champions season.
I wouldn't say I hate LSU as an Alabama fan, I hate a lot of teams, I hate Auburn, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and A&M, but I do not hate LSU because I respect them. I respect the bayou Bengals and their head coach Les MIles because every single year the Alabama vs. LSU game is simply a dog fight.
But that is just me, a lot of fans in this rivalry hate each other, and that is okay. It is SEC football after all, but I think it is safe to say there is a mutual respect.
Nick Saban is the best coach in the division, conference, country, and the world. That being said, I'm a huge fan of ole Nick as any good Alabama fan should be, but people may forget he didn't always prowl the sidelines in Tuscaloosa. He started his SEC Legend in Louisiana.
From 2000-2004 Nick Saban was the head football coach of LSU and led them to a National Championship. He filled the LSU faithful with the hope Saban would be a tiger for life....yeah no. After winning a National Championship, Saban left Creole country for South Beach and coached the Miami dolphins before the big job in Alabama called in 2007.
It is safe to say that the love LSU fans had for Saban turned into hate the minute he walked up to the podium in Tuscaloosa to become the coach for their hated rival. Saban is a huge part of both of these program's history and there is no doubt he would have built a similar dynasty at LSU.
Ever since LSU hired Les Miles and Alabama hired Nick Saban, these two football teams have been really, really good. With five titles between the two coaches, the annual match-up between the two squads every November is a well-played competitive match.
Let's all remember the game of the century in 2011. That year LSU was steamrolling everyone in their sight with a suffocating defense led by the notorious honey badger, Tyrann Mathieu.
Alabama boasted arguably the best defense in the history of college football, and a legitimate Heisman contender in Trent Richardson, so when these two teams entered their annual grudge match ranked number one and two, it was dubbed the game of the century.
That entire week was nuts. Gameday started setting up on Monday, Lebron James was in town, over 3 million people were reported to be in Tuscaloosa that weekend, which if you haven't been to Tuscaloosa is far too many people.
The game itself was the definition of a defensive struggle. The Tigers topped Alabama that year 9-6, and people thought that was the end of the rivalry for that year. They were wrong. Alabama found its way into the National title game for a rematch against the LSU tigers and the final score was 21-0, trouncing in the Tiger's backyard at the Super Dome.
Every single game these two teams have played since has come down to a huge game-winning play late in the game. Whether it was the screen to Tj Yeldon, or Blake Sims finding DeAndrew White for an overtime touchdown. Alabama has had to earn every single one of those victories and LSU has been very close to ruining Nick Saban's dynasty many times over.
This season the winner of the SEC West will be decided by the winner of LSU vs. Alabama once again, and with Heisman front-runner and human highlight real Leonard Fournette going up against Reggie Ragland and the best defense in the Country, it should be a game for the ages and once again prove why it is the SEC's most important rivalry.
