LSU’s meeting with Alabama now has a clear slot on the schedule: the Tigers and Crimson Tide will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, inside Tiger Stadium, with ABC carrying the game.
The showdown was flexed before the season, so the start time had been set up to land either in the afternoon or under the lights. This time, it’s the daytime window for one of the SEC’s biggest games.
The matchup brings together a top-15 pairing, with LSU at No. 13 and Alabama at No. 10 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. Both teams are idle this week, so those rankings are not expected to move much before they meet.
LSU has already lived through a strange kickoff stretch in 2026, the first season under Lane Kiffin. The Tigers opened with six straight night games, with the earliest start among them coming at 6 p.m. Since then, LSU has shifted sharply in the other direction, playing back-to-back 11 a.m. kickoffs against Mississippi State at home and then at Auburn last week.
Alabama comes in with sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell playing like one of the season’s bright young stars. Through eight games, all starts, he has thrown for 2,057 yards and 15 touchdowns against five interceptions. He has also added 251 rushing yards on 66 carries and scored five more times on the ground.
The Crimson Tide are 6-2 and 4-2 in the SEC, and they’ve spent the entire season in the top 10. LSU, also 6-2 and 3-2 in league play, was ranked in the top 10 for a couple of weeks before its overtime loss at Kentucky knocked the Tigers back down the poll.
In Other News...
LSU Awaits Huge Recruiting Test As Tension Builds Around Will Wade
The next major recruiting swing for LSU basketball arrives Thursday, when five-star 2027 guard Reese Alston is expected to make his college decision. The Tigers are in the mix alongside Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Wichita State, giving LSU a real chance to land one of the most coveted young guards in the country and add another high-end name to its future backcourt plans.
Reese Alstons recruitment, though, has carried an extra layer of intrigue because of the public comments from his father, former NBA guard Rafer Alston, about LSU coach Will Wade. With those tensions hanging over the process, the Tigers are waiting to see whether the appeal of the program outweighs the noise around it, and Thursday should provide a clear answer on just how strong LSUs position really is. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Heads Into Alabama Week With One Big Edge And One Concern
The bye week gives LSU a little breathing room before Alabama comes to Baton Rouge on November 7, and the early read from the oddsmakers says the Tigers have earned some respect. Vegas has LSU favored by 3.5 points with a total of 52.5, which reflects how competitive this matchup is expected to be and how much this game could hinge on which version of LSU shows up after a week off.
Health, though, remains the lingering question. LSU has spent much of the season managing injuries, and while some players are making their way back, others are still uncertain for the Alabama game. For a team heading into one of the most important weeks on the schedule, that mix of improvement and uncertainty may end up mattering as much as the line on the board. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Playoff Hope Now Comes Down To A Brutal SEC Debate
The playoff math around LSU is already getting weird in the kind of way that tends to happen when the SEC starts beating itself up. FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt floated a scenario in which the Tigers could still reach the 2026 College Football Playoff even with three losses, comparing the seasons volatility to 2007 and pointing to a path where November changes everything. In his view, LSU would handle Alabama and Tennessee, while Kentucky would stumble twice, leaving the Tigers positioned to slide into the No. 11 seed.
What makes the discussion even trickier is how much the selection process may end up rewarding timing as much as record. If LSUs losses come early and its best head-to-head results land late, the Tigers could be judged very differently than another team with the same number in the loss column. It is the sort of SEC debate that can feel absurd in September and absolutely central by the time the bracket is drawn. [Read more 🡒]