Nick Saban sat down in a post-game press conference and began to express the appreciation he had for the football program that had learned to love him.
“This has probably been the greatest experience that I’ve ever had as a coach, the five years that I’ve spent at LSU. You can call them golden years for me,” Saban said.
It was 2005, and the Tigers had just dropped a six-game win streak to Iowa in the Capital One Bowl. This was the last game of the season, but most importantly, it was the last time that Saban would hold the title of head coach for LSU football.
LSU fans didn’t greet Saban with open arms upon his arrival to Baton Rouge in 1999. Similar to the skepticism that Brian Kelly received in his first few months at LSU, fans were concerned that the ex-Michigan State head coach would continue to drive the program into the ground.
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That fanbase had known heartbreak and disappointment well. The last two years of Gerry DiNardo’s tenure at LSU was filled with a good bit of it. Under DiNardo, LSU finished the 1998 season with just four wins and seven losses. The knife was driven deeper when its 1999 season ended with even fewer wins and more losses.
Fans were tired of being the worst, but weren’t really sure what would get them back to being the best. Though they didn’t know it at the time, Saban was the best.
In just five seasons at LSU, Saban had created a Tiger team that was nearly unstoppable. His tenure included 48 wins with just 16 losses, a national championship in 2003, two Southeastern Conference championships, three SEC West championships and a 3-2 record in bowl games. Saban embodied the success that fans had longed for.
But just when it seemed it couldn’t get any better, it all came crumbling down.
Two days before that Capital One Bowl loss to Iowa, Saban announced that he would be leaving LSU to pursue a head coaching position in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins.
“There’s a bright future here, and it’s not easy to walk away from to be honest with you,” Saban said after the bowl loss.
But he did. He walked away from a team that had thrived under him to pursue what many college coaches only ever dream of. Saban’s time with the Miami Dolphins, however, didn’t last long. In fact, it lasted only two seasons.
Just one year later, in 2007, Saban accepted a position that would ultimately alter the course of his life.
“I can’t tell you how pleased and honored I am to be your coach at the University of Alabama,” Saban said in his first press conference for the Crimson Tide.
Many say this is when the rivalry was truly born.
Saban has led Alabama for the past 17 years, driving them to success season after season and creating a dominant program that other teams fear. He fueled the hatred that most LSU fans still have, even all these years later.
But what makes Saban so despised by that LSU fanbase?
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He didn’t just leave LSU. He left LSU and brought success to an SEC opponent, ten-fold. It was the ultimate betrayal, and it’s been relived over and over again since 2007.
Notable Games
2008: Tricky Nick’s Return
In 2008, Nick Saban returned to Tiger Stadium for the first time since 2005. He probably knew the facilities better than Les Miles, LSU’s head coach following his departure. Death Valley embodied its name that night as the Crimson Tide ran out onto the field. 93,039 fans were there to witness this game, a school record crowd at the time.
A No. 15 LSU team managed to keep up with No. 1 Alabama, even forcing the game into overtime. Crimson Tide’s safety Rashad Johnson all but clinched the win and a berth in the SEC Championship Game after he picked off quarterback Jarrett Lee in overtime on LSU’s third down in the end zone. The Tide took the win just three plays later after gaining possession.
2011: Defense Wins Championships
Dubbed the “Defensive Game of the Century,” LSU’s 9-6 win over Alabama showcased the rock-solid defense that both teams contained. For LSU, it was the first game since its 3-0 loss in 1979 to the same opponent with no touchdowns recorded.
Besides a touchdown, this game truly had it all, from multiple missed field goals, to interceptions, to a period of overtime. No point was scored by either team until there was just minutes left of the second quarter.
Weeks later, LSU would beat Georgia and go on to clinch the SEC championship title.
2012: No More Tricks for the Mad Hatter
Led by quarterback Zach Mettenberger, LSU put together one of its best offensive performances of the season. The Tigers managed to strike first with a field goal in the first quarter. Going into the fourth quarter, LSU led the game 17-14.
With less than a minute of the game to go, Alabama running back T.J. Yelton took a swing pass from quarterback AJ McCarron, going 28 yards and finding himself in the endzone. Alabama took the game 21-17. LSU fans blamed Miles for the loss. The coach’s usual tactics were no match for the Tide’s perseverance.
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2019: Roll Clyde
The most decorated team in LSU football history, and arguably one of the most talented in all of college football, traveled to Tuscaloosa in hopes of continuing its perfect season.
And that it did.
The 46-41 win was the first time the Tigers had beaten the Tide since that 2011 game.
The high scoring matchup consisted of over 500 offensive yards for both teams.
Quarterback Joe Burrow seemed to solidify his place as the front-runner in the race for the Heisman trophy, as he answered each and every challenge that Alabama presented. Clyde Edwards-Helaire led LSU’s offense with three touchdowns and 103 rushing yards, piecing together a career performance in what was ultimately one of the most important games of the season.
