The No. 14 LSU Tigers will travel to face the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide this weekend, adding another chapter to a storied SEC rivalry known as the "First Saturday in November."
Alabama enters the game undefeated in conference play and on a six-game winning streak. LSU has just one conference loss, but has a chance to defeat Alabama in two straight years for the first time since the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
The rivalry has generated some of the top games in college football, plus NFL dominance. At the start of the 2023 NFL season, Alabama led the league with the most active players on a roster (57). LSU was tied with the Ohio State Buckeyes in third (43) behind the Georgia Bulldogs at 49.
Here are the numbers that define the rivalry between Alabama and LSU:
Another ranked matchup
Saturday will be the 31st time that the Tigers and Crimson Tide have met as ranked opponents, the fourth most in FBS history behind Michigan-Ohio State, Oklahoma-Texas and Notre Dame-USC.
The two schools first met in 1895, a matchup that ended in a 12-6 win by LSU. However, Alabama leads the series with 55 wins in 87 games, including 10 in the last 12 meetings. Bear Bryant's 11 straight wins over LSU as Alabama coach is the longest streak in the rivalry's 128-year history.
Nick Saban is no stranger on either side
Since Nick Saban came to the Crimson Tide, he's lost to LSU in back-to-back games just once.
The veteran coach has seen both sides of the rivalry. He spent four seasons at LSU, helping start a stretch between 2003 and 2007 where the Tigers won five Alabama games in a row.
However, once Saban joined the Crimson Tide in 2007, it started to turn around. Saban won two of the next five meetings before winning eight straight between 2012 and 2018, the second longest streak in series history behind Bryant's 11-win streak between 1971 and 1981.
Championships won between the two
Joe Burrow outduels Trevor Lawrence as he passes for 463 yards and five touchdowns while adding another TD on the ground to lead LSU to a 42-25 defeat of Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
While the Crimson Tide have appeared in more College Football Playoffs (9) than the Tigers (1), LSU made the most of its lone run, winning the national championship in 2019. Alabama has won three times, most recently in 2020.
Of the 16 Bowl Championship Series games, the two programs accounted for five titles. The Crimson Tide won three times, while the Tigers won twice, including one with Saban as head coach in 2003.
In 2011, Alabama and LSU faced off in the BCS title game, a rematch of the 9-6 game earlier in the season. This time, the Crimson Time came out on top in a 21-0 shutout. Alabama held LSU to just 92 total yards and forced two turnovers. One touchdown and five field goals were enough for the Crimson Tide victory.
The game had notable firsts for a BCS title game -- the only shutout rematch of a regular season matchup, and a champion that didn't win its division or conference.
Dominating the NFL draft
The rivalry's most notable game filled with future NFL professionals took place in 2011.
A whopping 45 players who played in the Tigers' 9-6 win were taken in the NFL draft, including 13 in the first round across the next three years -- most notably Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Trent Richardson, Tyrann Mathieu, Dre Kirkpatrick, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Dont'a Hightower.
In 2019, another top-ranked matchup turned into an NFL draft full of pros from both sides. Then-No. 2 ranked LSU defeated then-No. 3 ranked Alabama 46-41 in a game that featured 19 future first-round picks and two Heisman award winners: Joe Burrow in 2019 and DeVonta Smith in 2020.
Eight players were taken in the next year's first round, including Burrow at No. 1 plus Tua Tagovailoa at No. 5, Jerry Jeudy at No. 15 and Justin Jefferson at No. 22. In 2020, four of the top-10 picks were either from Alabama or LSU -- Ja'Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, Pat Surtain II and Smith.