BATON ROUGE — LSU football has not beaten Alabama since 2011. It's a stat all to familiar with the schools fans. But no team is as tested as the Tigers, and the could pay dividends in Tuscaloosa, Saturday.
No. 2 LSU plays no. 3 Alabama in the most hyped regular season college football game since, well, LSU and Alabama played last year in a battle of top-5 teams. The Tide wiped the floor with the Tigers in a 29-0 win, handing LSU it's only loss to a top-10 team in the past two season. The Tigers have instead won an astonishing seven such games.
Behind Joe Burrow, LSU is 7-1 against top-10 team since the start of last season. Last year the Tiger beat UCF, Georgia, Auburn and Miami. Teams who were all ranked inside the AP of CFP top 10. This year the Tigers already have wins over Texas, Florida and Auburn. No team in the country can even compare to that many top-10 wins.
Georgia is 4-1 in those match-ups, Ohio State 3-0, and Alabama is 3-1, that lone loss a ungly blowout to the hands of Clemson in the national championship.
LSU's battle-tested schedule is the biggest reason many were up in arms when the College Football Playoff committee ranked the Tigers second, behind Ohio State this week. But that schedule could also be the difference Saturday.
"We went on the road and beat a good Texas team, played Florida, Auburn. We've been challenged," said quarterback Joe Burrow. "That helps us a lot this week. The adversity we've faced this year and last year, and a lot of those guys are back. I think that really helps us."
Saturday's game airs on CBS at 2:30.