Start the Hype Now, Another Epic Alabama at LSU Showdown Looms

With the Southeastern Conference’s media days less than two weeks away and the 2016 college football season kicking off in approximately two months, fans can start zeroing in on the games they don’t want to miss this fall, especially the ones that will go a long way in determining the eventual national champion. 

The short list includes Clemson at Florida State on Oct. 29 and Michigan at Ohio State on Nov. 26, but neither is quite like the one when the reigning national champions will hear: "It's Saturday night in Death Valley…and here come your Fighting Tigers of LSU.”

Yes, the Alabama Crimson Tide at the LSU Tigers is once again the can’t-miss game of the regular season. It’ll cause a lot of people outside the SEC to say, “Ah, not again,” and “Been there, done that,” but don’t make that mistake.

Both teams are absolutely loaded. Alabama might have its most talented team yet under Nick Saban, while LSU returns 18 of 22 starters.

LSU head coach Les Miles once correctly called this matchup “big-boy football,” and Saban said after the 2009 victory, “Man, those games are fun to be a part of” because they’re so tough and physical.

During Alabama’s ongoing dynasty, no opponent has consistently played the Crimson Tide tougher than LSU, and both sides routinely talk about the hangover effect after. They both recruit at a high level and are arguably the two best programs in the country when it comes to churning out NFL talent.

Despite playing in the same division, they met for the 2011 national championship, months after what was called the latest installment of the Game of the Century. That 2011 regular-season game resulted in a 9-6 overtime victory for LSU, and what it lacked in offensive firepower it more than made up for in pure competition.

There were 45 players from those two teams who would be selected in the NFL draft, including 14 in the first round.

This year’s game could potentially see comparable numbers, as the two teams are expected to finish atop the SEC West again. Phil Steele even predicted in his annual preseason magazine that both Alabama and LSU will make the College Football Playoff, which would be a first for two teams from the same conference.

Specifically, he has:

• Peach Bowl: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
• Fiesta Bowl: Florida State vs. LSU

That pretty much falls in line with this series. In all nine Miles vs. Saban regular-season matchups, both teams have been ranked, with at least one in the top five. The winner has gone on to play in the SEC Championship Game in eight of the last 11 years, winning that game six out of the eight times and five straight.

Dave Martin/Associated Press

Moreover, this year’s game will be played at Tiger Stadium, the toughest venue in college football where, as Miles put it, “dreams come to die.”

The four previous meetings there have all been extremely close.

Two years ago, Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon's fumble gave LSU the ball on the Alabama 6 with the score tied 10-10 and 1:13 remaining on the clock. Not only did the game appear to be over, but announcements were made asking fans not to rush the field.

Only the Tigers didn’t put the Crimson Tide away. Guard Vadal Alexander was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and they had to settle for a field goal. 

Blake Sims, in maybe his finest moment as Alabama’s quarterback, subsequently led the offense 55 yards in 50 seconds for the tying field goal, and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White in overtime for a 20-13 victory.

The game also went down to the wire in 2012, with Yeldon taking a screen pass for a 28-yard touchdown with 51 seconds remaining for the 21-17 victory. It ruined an impressive comeback by LSU, which had been down 14-3 at halftime.

When LSU took the lead in the fourth quarter, the eruption by Tigers fans caused the press box to shake. Instead, the sellout crowd so desperate to see the Tigers avenge their 2011 national championship loss saw the longest home winning streak in program history, 22 games, come to an end.

“Those guys played their hearts out,” Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones said at the time, and he was talking about LSU. 

In 2010, Miles, the Mad Hatter, struck with a gutsy call down 14-13 with 9:51 remaining and the ball at Alabama's 26-yard line. On fourth-and-1 Miles called for a reverse, with DeAngelo Peterson gaining 23 yards to set up Stevan Ridley's 1-yard touchdown. LSU went on to win 24-21.

Year	Location	Winner	Score
2007	Tuscaloosa	LSU	41-34
2008	Baton Rouge	Alabama	27-21 OT
2009	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	24-15
2010	Baton Rouge	LSU	24-21
2011	Tuscaloosa	LSU	9-6 OT
(BCS)	New Orleans	Alabama	21-0
2012	Baton Rouge	Alabama	21-17
2013	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	38-17
2014	Baton Rouge	Alabama	20-13 OT
2015	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	30-16

In 2008, Saban’s homecoming game, for lack of a better term, lived up to the hype despite an upset LSU fan burning an effigy of the former Tigers coach. Alabama safety Rashad Johnson picked off three passes, the last in overtime, and John Parker Wilson scored on a 1-yard dive for a 27-21 victory.

All four of those games were decided by a touchdown or less, with two going to overtime.

"This one is bitter. It's painful," Miles said during his postgame press conference after the 2008 loss. "But as a competitor, when you play your tail off, there's a comfort in that."

Miles has obviously had some practice with those kinds of statements after playing Alabama. For example, when LSU was shut out 21-0 in the BCS Championship Game in New Orleans at the end of the 2011 season, he said:

"I told my team that it should hurt. Quality people. We fight like hell, and we finished second. It's not—it's supposed to be painful. And the good news is that there will be more resolve. We've had a nice run here. We won a lot of games. We've got to the back end of the season and won bowl games and won championships, and you cannot enjoy it any more than we have. In the same vein, it was painful as anything we've been through."

So yes, the 2015 Alabama-LSU game was relatively a dud, with the Crimson Tide defense effectively shutting down LSU running back Leonard Fournette (31 rushing yards on 19 carries) en route to a 30-16 victory.

Yes, LSU quarterback Brandon Harris might not exactly strike fear into his opponents, at least not yet.

Yes, Alabama has won five straight against LSU.

The only way those things matter this time is that they'll help motivate the Tigers, especially considering how close Miles came to losing his job at the end of the 2015 season.

History tells us over and over again that the only thing more dangerous than underestimating a quality opponent is to not be extra careful against one who’s desperate as well. 

Alabama should expect nothing less from LSU, resulting in another nail-biting game between the two powerhouses.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.