Sports

SEC Gives LSU Stepchild Treatment (Again) By Helping Alabama In Rivalry Clash

#LSU Tigers
by Last Updated

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

LSU will not host Alabama at night in Baton Rouge.


The LSU football team angered the SEC with its offseason antics ahead of the 2026 campaign. It appears the league could be dishing out some payback.

The Tigers will not host rival Alabama under the lights in Baton Rouge on Saturday. It could have a major impact on home field advantage.

In the past, the conference has made it its mission to give LSU late kickoffs when playing at home in Tiger Stadium. Brian Stultz of Fly War Eagle gathered some statistics on kick times around the SEC just last year.

LSU was given night kicks on 83% of their games across a five-year span. The next closes SEC team was South Carolina at 54%. It was something that Lane Kiffin commented on while at Ole Miss.

“LSU gets to play at night again, shocker.”

I did some digging of my own looking strictly at home kickoff times for SEC games played in Baton Rouge since 2012. The Tigers played 40 of their 59 home contests under the lights (5:00 PM local kick or later).

LSU has played nearly 70% of its conference games over the last 15 seasons at night. It’s gone 29-11 in those matchups, with the majority of the losses coming against Alabama.

In 10 of those campaigns, they played at least 75% of their SEC home games at night. On two occasions, all of their conference kickoffs came under the lights.

There is no denying that LSU at night is one of the toughest environments for visiting teams in college football. It’s a spectacle that the SEC has pushed to highlight at every turn possible. That could be changing.

LSU angered the SEC.

This offseason, first-year head coach Lane Kiffin pushed the buttons of his SEC counterparts. Kiffin left Ole Miss in the midst of a playoff run last December. He dug the knife after the fact.

Kiffin took every opportunity to antagonize the Rebels this summer, highlighted by his insinuations that racism played a role in his leaving Oxford, Mississippi.

He was also accused of tampering with former players while taking his entire offensive coaching staff with him to Baton Rouge.

Kiffin irritated other SEC fanbases with his roster management and transfer portal outlook, circumventing a new “salary cap” to build a $40 million lineup.

The head coach attempted to add to his top-ranked transfer class by adding professional players to his team in August. It ultimately led to a lawsuit with the conference.

The SEC is not happy with LSU. Lane Kiffin has embraced his role as villain. He does not care what others think.

With that said, it appears the league has taken a stance against the Tigers with subtle scheduling decisions. The first came when it announced a late kickoff between Ole Miss and LSU in Oxford. Kiffin would lose to his old team in a raucous environment.

Now, the league has doubled down.

LSU will not play Alabama at night.

The Tigers welcome the Crimson Tide to Baton Rouge in what is arguably their biggest home game of the year. It will kick off at 2:30 PM CT.

It is LSU’s second straight SEC home game that will be played in the afternoon after a noon showing vs. Mississippi State. Is the league sending a message?

LSU will be featured as part of a three-game headliner aired on ABC. It will not get the primetime slot. The atmosphere won’t be nearly as rowdy. It should help Alabama.

Instead, the night game will go to Ole Miss when the Rebels host Georgia in Oxford. Coincidence? I’ll let you be the judge.