LSU’s yearly matchup with Alabama has no trophy like the Battle of the Boot against Arkansas, though the Tide did receive a crystal trophy for winning the last duel.
It doesn’t have a fan-favored saying like “Go to hell Ole Miss,” though these sentiments can probably be applied to Alabama too.
But because of recent history, no other team can be considered LSU’s No. 1 rival, said LSU defensive tackle Bennie Logan.
“‘Beat ’Bama’… or ‘You have to beat ’Bama,’ that’s all you ever hear,” Logan said. “It seems like everybody thinks our schedule is just ’Bama, ’Bama, ’Bama because that’s all people talk about.”
Since former LSU coach Nick Saban took the Crimson Tide job, tension between the two schools has grown so much that LSU’s other rivalries currently pale in comparison.
The last five regular-season games between the teams have been decided by an average of 5.6 points, and the last time the Tigers and Tide played a game in which one team wasn’t ranked was in 2006 — the year before Saban’s tenure with Alabama began.
At other times in LSU’s history, its bouts with Ole Miss, Arkansas and Auburn were the Saturdays Tiger fans marked on their calendars.
Though the Ole Miss rivalry has Billy Cannon’s Halloween Night Run and Auburn has the Earthquake Game, Tiger fans are much more interested in what’s happening now, said sophomore defensive tackle Anthony Johnson.
Logan said he didn’t realize Ole Miss was a historical rival for LSU until recently because that game is never talked about by the fans.
With last season’s “Game of the Century” and National Championship debacle fresh in Tiger fans’ minds, Alabama is now enemy No. 1.
But the feeling might not be mutual because Alabama already has Auburn as its own biggest rival.
The Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn has been played since 1893 and is often considered one of the fiercest rivalries in sports.
One factor that sets the rivalry apart is the schools’ proximity to each other — they are separated by slightly more than 100 miles.
Being the only power football program in Louisiana, LSU doesn’t share that connection to any of its opponents.
But Johnson said that gives LSU fans the ability to choose who the No. 1 rival will be each season.
“Whoever is a big-time team, if it was Auburn No. 1 and we were No. 2, that would be our biggest rivalry, so it’s all on the fans.” Johnson said. “Whatever they say is going to be our biggest rivalry … that’s what I’ll go with.”
LSU junior safety Eric Reid said it’s important for the team to keep the mindset that the next opponent is always the No. 1 rival, but he admitted it’s hard not to highlight this game on the schedule.
Reid knows the recent history of the matchup well. His goal line interception in last year’s regular-season game may be one of the most memorable plays in the rivalry’s recent history.
“When I was in high school, I got into the rivalry a little,” Reid said. “As a fan, I had the same emotions towards Alabama, but now that I’m a player, it’s completely different. I respect those guys.”
LSU coach Les Miles said the intensity surrounding the Alabama game stems from that respect the two teams have for each other. But on the field, respect takes a back seat to genuine dislike for each other, Logan said.
“We don’t like ’Bama and they don’t like us, so the tension is definitely really high,” Logan said.
