Is Alabama-LSU the best rivalry in college football?

Wait. Don’t answer that yet. For decades, the series was overshadowed even by other Alabama rivalries with Auburn and Tennessee, nevermind other annual classics like Michigan-Ohio State, Oklahoma-Texas, Army-Navy, among many others.

But when Nick Saban (who previously coached at LSU prior to his stint in the NFL) arrived in Tuscaloosa, the Tide and Tigers almost immediately became a focal point in college football. The subplot of Saban’s own history in Baton Rouge notwithstanding — the level of future NFL talent between the programs, the SEC western division implications, the national championship stakes — the rivalry had it all, and then some.

The games delivered the drama, the characters (quirky head coaches, trash-talking players) and the promise of the best the sport could offer nearly every time the crimson and white locked horns with the purple and gold. And they’re not done yet.

Below are 11 reasons why Alabama-LSU is one of the best rivalries ever.

Javier Arenas punt return (2007)

LSU was the better team, and they won the game on the way to a national championship. But it signified something for Alabama in Saban’s first year as the head coach. His group took a 3-game winning streak into the bye, fresh off a 41-17 drubbing of Tennessee at home, setting up an unexpected monster match-up with the visiting third-ranked Tigers. Behind John Parker Wilson finding explosive receivers DJ Hall and Keith Brown for touchdowns, Bama took a 20-17 lead into the half and even extended that to 10 points during the third quarter with a second Brown TD. But the Tigers came storming back when Matt Flynn hit Demetrius Byrd for a 61-yard touchdown and Colt David’s steady kicking kept Les Miles’ tied the game to start the third quarter. When Javier Arenas burst up the middle of the field to split the coverage for a 61-yard go-ahead touchdown punt return, it looked as if the Crimson Tide would shock LSU, and Nick Saban’s debut season would establish the Bama dynasty sooner than expected. But those would be Bama’s final points, with LSU tying the game as Flynn found Early Doucet for a score with 2:49 left. On third and long with less than two minutes to go, Tiger safety blitzed Wilson, who flailed back and fumbled the ball away as LSU recovered inside Alabama’s 5-yard-line. Jacob Hester punched it in to seal the deal. The Tide’s regular season ended in disaster, losing four straight games, including the Louisiana-Monroe upset and a heartbreaker at Auburn. But Alabama’s all-time greatest punt returner lit the stadium on fire and gave the world a harbinger of things to come.

John Parker Wilson hangs up on LSU (2008)

Saban put the college football world on notice when his team whipped Clemson in the season opener. Eight more wins later, they came to Baton Rouge with a purpose, but the 2-loss Tigers didn’t make it easy on them and an overtime classic that further cemented one defensive back’s legacy in the program. While John Parker Wilson struggled to throw against LSU’s talented defense, his toughness shined through bookending quarterback sneaks for touchdowns, with some crucial throws in between. Glen Coffee rumbled for 125 rushing yards and a touchdown, but it was veteran Tide safety Rashad Johnson who put his stamp on the game with three interceptions, including a nifty 54-yard pick-six and one to give his team a shot to clinch it on the next possession. The Saban era has a long list of impressive individual efforts, but Johnson’s belongs on anyone’s short list for a single-game best, especially considering the stakes. Wilson won the game with an overtime sneak for a touchdown and left fans on both sides with an indelible memory during the game when he held his hand to his helmet to mimic a phone call, as he would later confirm LSU fans had gotten his number to inundate him with calls, messages and voicemails to distract him before the game, as they had with Tim Tebow and Knowshon Moreno earlier that season.

Julio Jones catch and run (2009)

After the Tide survived a near-upset from Lane Kiffin’s Tennessee squad behind Terrence Cody’s field goal block as time expired, they needed a break. While undefeated, the grind of a season with national championship and even Heisman momentum building, they went into the bye week to prep for their second top 10 match-up against Les Miles’ athletic LSU team. The Bama defense held the Tiger offense to just 253 total yards, but LSU stunned Bryant-Denny by taking a 7-3 halftime lead. Tide QB Greg McElroy redeemed a first half INT with an early third quarter touchdown pass to Darius Hanks to take the lead. But the Tigers wouldn’t go away. They forced a safety, and running back Stevan Ridley scored a touchdown to give them a 5-point edge heading into a pivotal fourth quarter. Despite Mark Ingram’s 144 rushing yards, Bama couldn’t find the end zone, until McElroy found superstar receiver Julio Jones on a screen pass to the left, and No. 8 did the rest. He eluded LSU DB Brandon Taylor and caught blocks from his offensive lineman on the outside before sprinting for an electrifying 73-yard touchdown that gave Bama a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Les Miles eats grass (2010)

The man ate grass. Looking to right the ship after South Carolina shocked them in Columbia earlier in the season, the defending national champs went into Tiger Stadium with everything to lose. Bama played sloppy, committing two turnovers and failing to find much consistency on offense. With LSU in control of the momentum, CBS cameras caught Tiger head coach Les Miles pinch a piece of grass from the turf and put it in his mouth, only adding to his well-documented mystique. Miles once described it as “a little tradition that humbles me as a man, that lets me know that I’m a part of the field.” OK…well, it appeared to work because the eccentric coach, dubbed “The Mad Hatter,” gambled by going for it on fourth down late in the game and converting to hand the Tide their second loss and knock them out of BCS contention.

The Game of the Century (2011)

The Game of the Century lived up to the unprecedented hype, at least to those who drooled over peak SEC defenses refusing to give an inch to offenses with names like Odell Beckham Jr., Trent Richardson, Russell Shepard and AJ McCarron. Perhaps because the other side the ball had the likes of Dont’a Hightower, Tyrann Mathieu, Morris Claiborne, Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw and Eric Reid. My goodness. The future NFL talent on the field was just absurd, with 45 players drafted, including 16 of the 22 defensive starters. In arguably the play of the game, Bama wide receiver Marquis Maze threw a deep pass to tight end Michael Williams before safety Eric Reid came down with the 50-50 ball that would have given Bama the ball at the 1-yard-line. But LSU made the plays (and the kicks) they needed to walk out with a win and the inside track to the coveted BCS berth. Little did they know it would be an all-SEC championship game, with Bama winning out and upsets paving the way for Nick Saban’s team to get payback in the Big Easy. Some might remember this game as “boring,” but we’ll never forget hanging on to every last play.

An actual national championship game (2011-12)

Your rivalry rules if it includes an actual national title game. While LSU walked away the winners the “Game of the Century,” college football chaos ensued to pave Alabama a path back into the BCS mix. Iowa State shocked undefeated Oklahoma State, and Nick Saban’s squad was back in business. The BCS calculations favored the Tide enough to warrant a rematch with the two teams most folks thought were best in the country anyway. But did the country want to see a rematch? Maybe not. Did Alabama deserve a shot at the title? Yep. And they didn’t leave anything to chance in the Superdome. Jeremy Shelley nailed five field goals while the Tide defense delivered four of the most suffocating quarters in college football history, let alone a national championship game, holding LSU to just 92 yards and letting the Tiger offense cross midfield just one time. Trent Richardson squirted around the edge to score the game’s lone touchdown, putting an exclamation point on a thorough dismantling of a team people were ready to anoint as one of the game’s all-time best.

The Yeldon screen (2012)

This game had it all, chiefly the loudest and best atmosphere in all of college football: Tiger Stadium at night. It lived up to the hype, too. The place was deafening. The student section rowdy and ruthless, hurling profanities in the direction of their old coach or anyone else in range, slinging souvenir cups full of, uh, beverages into the air anytime LSU reached the end zone. The place was rocking, with good reason. Led by A.J. McCarron and bruising running back Eddie Lacy, undefeated and top-ranked Bama shot out to a 14-3 halftime lead. But LSU regrouped with touchdowns from Jeremy Hill and Jarvis Landry to give the Tigers a lead they wouldn’t surrender until less than a minute to go. With 1:34 on the clock and zero timeouts, McCarron lined up at the 28 and went full-John Elway, thanks to his favorite clutch target Kevin Norwood. The quarterback found the receiver for three straight first downs, marching the Tide down to LSU’s 28-yardline. Then on 2nd-and-10, LSU blitzed on the left side as McCarron snuck the ball through to T.J. Yeldon who darted and juked through the Tiger defense for an improbable go-ahead touchdown that sent a hush over the once-roaring Tiger Stadium.

Fournette stuffed (2015)

Another bout never in doubt, this battle saw an old-fashioned running back duel between two blue chip talents whose seasons went in opposite directions the moment they clashed. Leonard Fournette ran through college football, piling up 200-yard games and Heisman hype with the Tigers undefeated. Alabama’s Derrick Henry, now the feature back after patiently backing up T.J. Yeldon for two seasons, had an impressive resume in his own right, including a 236-yard game against Texas A&M. But Nov. 7 marked the end of one campaign and the launch of another, with Bama’s smothering defense stuffing Fournette for just 31 rushing yards, while Henry cranked out 210 and three touchdowns. Henry stole the show on the RB stage and rode the momentum all the way to his Heisman Trophy-winning speech and Alabama’s national championship win over Clemson, but that night belonged to the defensive unit led by stars like Reggie Ragland, Jarran Reed, Eddie Jackson and A’Shawn Robinson. Keying on LSU’s superstar, they painted a masterpiece that propelled Saban’s squad to the top of the heap yet again.

‘Roll Tide what? F— you!’ (2019)

Game of the Century, Part Deux. With a College Football Playoff spot on the line between the undefeated teams, ESPN’s “College GameDay” and “SEC Nation” broadcast on the University of Alabama campus to hype another super-game in Tuscaloosa. Then-President Donald Trump even showed up, so all eyes were on Bryant-Denny that day. On Bama’s first possession, the hobbled Tua Tagovailoa picked apart the Tigers before the quarterback fumbled the ball away instead of scoring a crucial opening drive TD. Behind eventual Heisman-winner Joe Burrow, LSU cruised down the field and grew a 10-0 lead on Alabama, who desperately needed a Jaylen Waddle punt return touchdown before things got really out of hand. LSU kept piling on, taking a 33-13 lead into halftime in what looked like a runaway. But Nick Saban teams never go down that easy. Tagovailoa and the explosive receiving corps of DeVonta Smith (213 yards, 2 TDs), Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, along with Najee Harris’ 146 rushing yards, mounted an incredible comeback to outscore LSU 28-13 in the second half. Bryant-Denny Stadium was rocking under the newly-installed LED lights. But the hole was just too big, and Burrow engineered one more scoring drive to put it out of reach. A euphoric Ed Orgeron was later caught on camera inside the locker room pumping up his team after the win. “We gonna beat their ass in recruiting,” he said. “We’re gonna beat their ass every time they see us. You understand that? Roll Tide what? F–k You!”

DeVonta Smith circus catch (2020)

After LSU took one off of the Tide in Tuscaloosa on their way to an undefeated national championship season, Bama matched by whipping the Bayou Bengals inside a hall-full Tiger Stadium (pandemic) by a one-sided score of 55-17. Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith each bolstered their respective Heisman campaigns, but it was the wide receiver making an absolutely stupid touchdown catch in the back of the end zone that made the college football world’s jaws drop. The throw from Jones was a beaut, sure, but it almost looked uncatchable as it sailed towards the stands. All it took was an acrobatic leap from the eventual Heisman-winner to help the Tide take a 45-14 lead into halftime and further cement himself as the greatest receiver in Alabama history. A few weeks later, they’d win the College Football Playoff.

Kelly goes for two (2022)

Alabama played sloppy football, amassing nearly 100 yards in penalties with one Bryce Young interception. But the reigning Heisman-winner helped the Tide claw their way back in and send the game to overtime, thanks to a Will Reichard field goal with 21 seconds left. Bama appeared to be in the driver’s seat after Roydell Williams’ go-ahead touchdown, until the Tigers matched it and Brian Kelly, in his first season as LSU coach, opted to go for two and the win. Jayden Daniels (who Saban said “killed us last year”) found tight end Mason Taylor the conversion to ultimately secure the SEC West and all but knock the Tide out of CFP contention for good. Tiger Stadium quickly emptied as fans rushed the field, and the mighty Tide were knocked off the mountaintop to let the rest of the relieved world of college football play for a title.