For all the Game(s) of the Century and Saban Bowls, all the SEC West battles and national championship showdowns, there’s never been an LSU-Alabama battle quite like the one about to unfold this weekend. The College Football Playoff effectively begins Saturday night in Death Valley.
Alabama (6-2, 3-2 in SEC) travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU (6-2, 3-1) with, in all likelihood, a CFP playoff berth at stake. Though the two teams have identical records, Alabama ranked 11th in the first CFP bracket and LSU an also-receiving-votes 15th, primarily because of Alabama’s September victory over Georgia.