The beginning of November is always the same for everyone. There is a time change with Daylight Savings Time which happens on the first Sunday of November. The weather across the country starts to become colder with fall weather kicking in. There is more excitement about the holidays with Thanksgiving and Christmas on the horizon.
For college football, there is a different meaning to the beginning of November. When people mention the “First Saturday of November”, it’s about one of the most heated, most competitive rivalries in college football: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. LSU Tigers.
History Behind “First Saturday of November” Rivalry
To add some context to this historical rivalry, it’s simplest to start with why is it called “First Saturday of November”. To be honest, it’s simple. Alabama and LSU typically play at the beginning of November. Now if fans would look back at the history of the rivalry, it hasn’t always been played on the first Saturday of November, but it is always played near the beginning of November.
In recent years, the rivalry has been called the “Saban Bowl” due to Nick Saban coaching for both LSU and Alabama. Saban has won one national title with LSU and has won six with Alabama.
The two teams started playing each other in 1895 where LSU beat Alabama 12-6. Both teams have played each other in consecutive years since 1964. During that time, Alabama leads the series 55-27-5.
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In their last game facing off against each other, LSU won an overtime thriller against the Crimson Tide 32-31. Despite that win, Alabama has won ten of the last 12 meetings against LSU as the Crimson Tide has shut out LSU three times during those 12 teams.
Saturday’s game looks like another critical game in the rivalry as the 14th-ranked 6-2 LSU Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to play eighth-ranked 7-1 Alabama. This is the 30th meeting between the two schools they are both ranked in the Top 25 going into the game. It should live up to expectations that previous games in the rivalry have set up.