Novig pricesLSU's Lane Kiffin says it's time to turn around the Alabama rivalry before Saturday
LSU is 4-15 against Alabama since 2008. Lane Kiffin wants that to change Saturday, when the No. 14 Tigers host the No. 5 Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge.
Lane Kiffin has been at LSU for less than a season, and he already has a clear read on where the Tigers stand against Alabama. Speaking before Saturday's game in Baton Rouge, he said, "It's time to start turning that around and playing really good ball," as reported by Jon Blau of The Advocate and Times-Picayune and picked up by EssentiallySports.
The record explains the frustration. Since 2008, LSU has beaten Alabama only four times in 19 meetings. The wins that stand out are the 9-6 overtime game in 2011, which Alabama answered in that season's title game, the 46-41 win in 2019 that ended an eight-game Tide streak, and the 32-31 overtime game in 2022. Kiffin knows the other side well, too. He was Nick Saban's offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2014 to 2016.
There is a deadline built in this year. Once the SEC moves to nine conference games, the annual series ends: Alabama and LSU are off each other's schedule in 2027 and will meet at least every other year starting in 2028. Kiffin called that change "sad," EssentiallySports reported. The kickoff time is also unusual. The 2:30 p.m. local start makes this the first Alabama game in Baton Rouge outside the night window since 2010. Athlon Sports reported that Kiffin said he was shocked by the slot and urged fans to move their whole game-day routine earlier. He also said he wants Tiger Stadium to beat the noise record Tennessee set against Alabama.
What it means for Saturday
Both teams are 6-2. In the first College Football Playoff rankings Alabama was No. 5 and LSU was No. 14, so neither can afford a third loss. LSU's November is also hard after this game, with Texas and Tennessee still on the schedule.
The two teams arrive in different form. LSU has won two straight by a combined 69-17, beating Mississippi State 31-0 and winning 38-17 at Auburn. Its losses were by one point at Kentucky and by eight at Ole Miss. Alabama lost to Georgia by three and at Tennessee by 16, then stopped the slide with a 31-20 win over Texas A&M. Their common opponents point in different directions. LSU beat Texas A&M 35-6, but Alabama won 45-17 at Kentucky, where LSU lost.
The board for Alabama at LSU has the Tigers favored. Novig lists LSU at -203 on the moneyline and Alabama at +199. The best Alabama price anywhere is +200 at Hard Rock Bet, only a point off Novig. On the spread, Novig has LSU at -6.5 for +106, and the best LSU price elsewhere is -5.5 at -115 at Hard Rock Bet. Novig puts the total at 52.5, with both sides at -102. Across the 12 venues, sportsbook hold runs from 3.3% to 6.8% on the moneyline and up to 7.0% on the spread and total. That means the markets agree on the favorite but differ in how much margin they take.
Kiffin has asked for the loudest afternoon Tiger Stadium can manage. With the series about to go to every other year, LSU may not get many more chances to improve that 4-15 mark soon.