The Saban Bowl: How Alabama-LSU football game became a spicy rivalry

The University of Alabama and Louisiana State University will renew their football rivalry for the 88^th time Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium with CBS broadcasting to a national television audience. The game is officially sold out, but re-sale tickets are available at www.seatgeek.com, and other online ticket outlets.

The Alabama-LSU rivalry has always been spicy, but the level of intensity has kicked up a notch or two since Nick Saban's arrival in Tuscaloosa just three years after he left LSU for an NFL job.

With Saban on the Alabama sidelines since 2007, the clash between the Tide and Tigers has often meant hard-fought games with SEC and national championship implications. Overall, Saban is 12-5 against LSU during his tenure at Alabama.

Here's a look back at the history between Saban, LSU and Alabama:

Saban at LSU

When Saban arrived in Baton Rouge for the 2000 season from Michigan State, LSU hadn't won an outright SEC football championship since 1986. And the Tigers hadn't won a national championship in football since 1958.

Saban broke both of those droughts in his five seasons at LSU, while compiling a record of 48 wins and 16 losses, including four wins and one loss to Alabama.

In 2001, LSU defeated No. 2 Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game to earn the conference title for the Tigers. But Saban's best year at LSU came in 2003.

LSU defeated Georgia to win the SEC title and then advanced to the BCS National Championship Game, defeating the Oklahoma Sooners by a 21-14 score.

In 2004, LSU went 9-3 and Saban decided to take the Miami Dolphins head coaching job after the season.

Alabama and LSU without Saban

LSU tapped former Oklahoma State coach Les Miles to replace Saban in 2005. Meanwhile, the Mike Shula era at Alabama was at its tail end, clearing the way for Saban to come to Tuscaloosa.

Miles won both matchups with Shula, a 16-13 overtime win in Tuscaloosa in 2005 and a 28-14 victory in 2006 at Baton Rouge. Shula was fired after the 2006 season and Saban was hired to lead the Tide football program.

Saban vs. Miles

From 2007 to 2015, Saban and Miles faced off 10 times, including once with the national championship on the line. Overall, Saban won seven of those games and Miles won three.

LSU won the first "Saban Bowl," with a 41-34 victory in 2007 in Tuscaloosa. LSU went on to win the BCS national championship.

Alabama won a 27-21 overtime thriller in Baton Rouge in 2008, followed by 24-15 win in Tuscaloosa in 2009, the year Saban claimed his first national title at Alabama.

Miles and LSU defeated Alabama 24-21 in 2010, but the rivalry hit its peak in 2011.

In November 2011, No. 1 ranked LSU met Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in a matchup that was billed as the "Game of the Century." LSU won 9-6 in overtime, but the two schools were matched up again in the BCS championship game. Alabama won the rematch, 21-0, at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, to earn Saban's second national title at UA.

Alabama won the next four regular season games with LSU. Miles was dismissed in 2016 after a disappointing 2-2 start. He was replaced by his defensive coordinator, Ed Orgeron.

Saban vs. Orgeron

Orgeron, who played football at LSU and previously served as head coach at Ole Miss, finished out the 2016 season as LSU's interim coach. The season included a 10-0 loss to Alabama in Baton Rouge.

Hired as the fulltime LSU coach for the 2017 season, Orgeron lost to Alabama that year and in 2018.

Those losses, combined with defeats at the end of the Les Miles era, meant that Saban and Alabama had built an eight-game winning streak over the Tigers.

In 2019, Orgeron brought the No. 2-ranked Tigers to Tuscaloosa against the No. 3-ranked Crimson Tide in a memorable quarterback duel between LSU's Joe Burrow and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa. With President Donald Trump in attendance at Bryant-Denny Stadium, LSU won 46-41. Burrow went on to win the Heisman Trophy and LSU won the national championship by defeating Clemson University in the College Football Playoff.

Alabama defeated LSU in 2020 and 2021 as Orgeron was dismissed after compiling a 45-14 record as the Tigers' head coach. He finished with one win and five losses against Alabama.

Saban vs. Kelly

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly accepted the LSU job after guiding the Fighting Irish to the BCS title game in 2012 and to College Football Playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020 during his 12 seasons in South Bend.

At Notre Dame, Kelly faced Saban and Alabama twice: in the BCS title game after the 2012 season (a 42-14 loss) and in College Football Playoff after the 2020 season (a 31-14 defeat).

In his first season at LSU, Kelly finally beat the Tide in a 32-31 overtime game in Baton Rouge. The loss eliminated the Crimson Tide from playoff contention and LSU earned a spot in the SEC Championship Game, where the Tigers lost to the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: The Saban Bowl: How Alabama-LSU football game became a spicy rivalry