Joe Burrow isn’t scared. Coach Ed Orgeron says its not bigger than life. It’s nothing his guys can’t handle. 

Even though the top-ranked Crimson Tide comes into Death Valley on Saturday a 14.5-point  favorite, with the potential Heisman-winner at quarterback and one of the greatest coaches of all time on their sideline, LSU sees all games the same. 

“I just say it’s just another game for us,” said senior running back Nick Brossette. “This game doesn’t define our season, so we just have to come ready to play. Obviously they’re a good football team, and they’ll come in here with a lot of intensity. We just have to match it. I think my teammates and everybody else are going to be ready. It’s going to be an exciting game, and I can’t wait for it.”

In his first season as a college starter, Burrow has handled tough Southeastern Conference environments on the road and led the Tigers to upset wins at home, but Orgeron believes Burrow can have his best game against Alabama. 

“This is why you work so hard when you’re 12, 13 years old,” Burrow said. “For opportunities like this. A lot of people don’t have this opportunity and I’m very honored to have it. This is why you play football. 

Is this year any different?

Orgeron is not going to kid himself. He wants the team to take everything one game at a time, yet he knows what Alabama means to the University and Louisiana as a whole.

Running back coach Tommie Robinson says, “Don’t let the moment be bigger than you.” That’s how this LSU team approaches the situation. 

“We’re treating this like any other game,” Brossette said. “We’ve been playing football our whole lives, so I’m not going to make it as big as it is. We’re just going to go out there and play our game and have fun playing football.”

Saturday will be the seventh time LSU will face a No. 1 ranked Alabama team, including the last two matchups. But it is the first time LSU and Alabama have both been ranked in the top five since 2012, and despite the 14.5-point spread, LSU believes this game is attainable. 

The last seven games, since a 21-0 LSU loss in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, have been a lot of the same: the Tiger defense holding Alabama and keeping it close, only to falter in the fourth quarter and ultimately fall. 

The past is not on this team’s mind. Through all of the past struggles against dominant Alabama teams, LSU is focused on this team, this year. 

And this year, LSU’s high powered, Dave Aranda-led defense will face one of the most historic offenses led by Alabama’s sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. 

The Tigers have played every game by adjusting to their opponent — going up-tempo against then-No. 2 Georgia and marching downfield against then-No. 8 Auburn. A solid force for LSU this year has been senior kicker Cole Tracy, who has been perfect on extra points and is 21-of-23 on field goals. With a little help from Tracy, who kicked a game-winner against Auburn and went 5-for-5 against Georgia, the Tigers have been able to grind out wins. 

But the offense will need to be firing on all cylinders on Saturday, especially in the red zone. 

“We’re not going to be able to settle for field goals next week [against Alabama],” Burrow said. “They’re the No. 1 scoring offense in the country, Tua is really, really good. They have great receivers, and we’re not going to be able to score 15 points and win the game.”

SEC Network analyst Greg McElroy said Monday that the only way to beat Alabama is to “match their offense blow-for-blow.”

Burrow and the LSU offense will need to be as solid as ever to compete with Alabama in order to do that. 

Burrow said LSU is going to have to prepare this week like going to war, and they will. Orgeron has praised the quarterback’s ability to stay calm in any situation, and Burrow knows that will be the most important aspect against Alabama. 

“You have to really manage your emotions in a game like this,” Burrow said. “If you don’t, the game kind of gets too big for you. Then you start not focusing on the game plan and start focusing on what the game means and you try to do too much.”

But for all the hype surrounding the game, and the adjustments that have to be made, the defending national champions will be treated as any other team on Saturday night in Death Valley. 

“[Orgeron] is trying to keep that same mindset [for every game],” said junior linebacker Michael Divinity Jr. “We’re going to treat every team the same, no matter what. Alabama is No. 1, we’re No. 4. Numbers don’t matter when it’s Saturday and you’re right next to each other, one-on-one. This is going to be a great game, and we’re not going to make it bigger or smaller than what it is.”

Greatest rivalry in college football?

Burrow grew up in Ohio and attended Ohio State, where he was a part of a storied rivalry with Michigan. 

From that Ohio State-Michigan game, to Florida-Georgia at the “Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” and the Red River Showdown in Texas-Oklahoma, college football is full those stories rivalries. 

Though Burrow never started in an Ohio State-Michigan game, he understood what that rivalry meant to the respective states. And he’s learning what LSU-Alabama means here. He has even watched some of the past matchups from this decade.

Whether the Tigers go into Alabama week undefeated, 0-8 or 7-1 as they currently sit, LSU-Alabama is the only game on some fans’ minds. 

“People were telling me about the ‘Bama game two and three weeks ago, before it was even a month and a half away, telling me, ‘This is the game we need to look at,’” said sophomore running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. “I’ve just been saying, ‘Look at the next game,’ and now it’s the next game. It’s an intense week.”

Contrary to Burrow, Baton Rouge natives Brossette and Edwards-Helaire have seen this rivalry and been a part of it for as long as they can remember. 

“It’s been intense since before we were born,” Edwards-Helaire said. “I remember sitting in my living room and everybody having all their LSU stuff on and my little sister sitting in her crib with all the LSU stuff. It’s always been something that’s been magnified since I can remember. It’s a different vibe to me, since I’m actually on the team now and not spectating and I understand the process behind everything.”

LSU-Alabama may not have even been considered a rivalry until 2007, when former LSU coach Nick Saban returned to Baton Rouge as the coach of the Crimson Tide. Since then, it has become a national spectacle, and Saban holds a 9-3 record over his former team.

ESPN’s College GameDay will be on site for the LSU-Alabama game for the tenth time. The game was flexed for the CBS primetime 7 p.m. kickoff for the eighth year in a row. All eyes will be on Baton Rouge come Nov. 3. 

“No doubt, [it’s the most historic rivalry in college football],” Edwards-Helaire said. “This is THE game. It’s the Southeastern Conference. It’s LSU versus Alabama. Who doesn’t want to watch this game?”