It’s not the oldest football rivalry in the SEC, nor is it the nastiest, but Alabama-LSU has taken on another designation, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum said Saturday.

While discussing Saturday night’s Alabama-LSU game with host Laura Rutledge on Saturday’s edition of SEC Nation, Finebaum said the Crimson Tide vs. the Tigers has become the “most-important” rivalry in the conference. The two teams are routinely among the top teams in the country when they meet each November.

“In the last 20 years, this has been the most important rivalry,” Finebaum said. “Nick Saban made it that way when he went to Alabama. It used to be Tennessee-Florida. It used to be Tennessee-Alabama. A lot of different variations, but almost every one of these games has had huge significance.”

Finebaum noted the 2011 “Game of the Century” in Tuscaloosa, which pitted No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama. The Tigers won 9-6 in overtime before the Crimson Tide got its revenge two months later in the BCS National Championship game.

Then there was the 2019 game, which was a quarterback shootout between LSU’s Joe Burrow and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. With then-president Donald Trump in attendance, the Tigers won 46-41.

“You go back to the 2011 game, I think you remember that one,” Finebaum said. “That was one of the most important college football games of all time. You had a (No. 1) versus 2. I mean, Lebron James could not get a (luxury) box. He had to sit in the club section with a couple of hudren people because there was just no other way to accommodate him. The game four years ago had everything. I mean, the President of the United States showed up. It was one of the most (impressive) arrays of talent we’ve ever seen.

“Tonight is close to that level, but the importance of this game is paramount.”

By the way, Finebaum also noted that Ole Miss-Mississippi State is the “nastiest” rivalry in the SEC, saying “there’s nothing that compares.” (SEC Nation was broadcasting from Oxford, so it’s possible he was simply playing to the crowd.)

Alabama is 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the SEC headed into tonight’s game, while LSU is 6-2, 4-1. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m. on CBS.