LSU will host Alabama on Nov. 7 at 3:30 p.m. ET, breaking the rivalry’s recent run of night kickoffs, CBS Sports reported.
The LSU Alabama kickoff will be carried nationally by ABC.
CBS Sports reported that Lane Kiffin expected the matchup to be played at night because of the rivalry’s recent history. The afternoon start creates a different setting for an Alabama-LSU game in Baton Rouge after six consecutive meetings were played at night.
Key Takeaways
- Alabama and LSU will meet at 3:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 7.
- ABC will televise the game through ESPN’s SEC broadcast arrangement.
- Fourteen of the teams’ previous 15 regular-season meetings were played at night.
The LSU Alabama kickoff breaks a long night-game pattern
The scheduling decision moves the Alabama-LSU matchup out of the nighttime window that has defined nearly all of the teams’ recent regular-season meetings. CBS Sports reported that the previous six meetings between the programs were played at night.
NOLA.com reported that 14 of the previous 15 regular-season meetings between LSU and Alabama also began at night. That figure places the Nov. 7 afternoon start outside the pattern that Kiffin had come to expect from the rivalry.
The difference is specifically tied to the kickoff window rather than the location. LSU’s game against Alabama is scheduled for Baton Rouge, but the 3:30 p.m. ET start means the teams will meet during the afternoon instead of under the conditions associated with their recent night games.
| Rivalry measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Previous Alabama-LSU meetings played at night | 6 straight |
| Previous 15 regular-season meetings played at night | 14 |
| LSU’s last seven night home games against Alabama | 1-6 |
The night-game pattern has not produced a winning record for LSU in its most recent home meetings with Alabama. CBS Sports reported that LSU is 1-6 in its last seven night home games against the Crimson Tide.
That 1-6 mark provides a separate measure from the scheduling history. The six-game night streak describes when the rivalry was played, while LSU’s 1-6 record describes the Tigers’ results in their last seven home night games against Alabama.
Lane Kiffin expected a night game
Kiffin expected the Alabama game to receive a night kickoff because of how often the rivalry had recently been played after dark, CBS Sports reported. His expectation was based on the recent scheduling history involving the two programs.
The six straight night meetings and the 14-of-15 regular-season figure explain why the afternoon assignment stood out within the rivalry. Those numbers cover both the immediate sequence of meetings and the broader recent regular-season pattern.
The scheduling role belongs to ESPN rather than the Southeastern Conference office. NOLA.com reported that ESPN, the SEC’s television partner, sets kickoff times for the league’s games.
That distinction separates the conference’s television arrangement from Kiffin’s expectation about the time of the game. The Nov. 7 start time is therefore part of ESPN’s broadcast scheduling process, while the night-game history explains why the afternoon window was unexpected to Kiffin.
ABC will carry the afternoon matchup
ABC will televise the Alabama-LSU game at 3:30 p.m. ET through ESPN’s broadcast deal with the SEC, according to the supplied scheduling details. The network assignment places the game in a national afternoon television window.
The broadcast information and the kickoff time are connected: ESPN sets the start time as the SEC’s television partner, and ABC carries the matchup within that arrangement. The game will remain a nationally televised SEC contest despite moving away from the recent night schedule.
NOLA.com reported that LSU and Alabama entered the matchup with matching 6-2 SEC records. Those identical conference records give the Nov. 7 meeting a direct standings comparison before the teams take the field.
LSU’s 6-2 SEC record and Alabama’s 6-2 mark are the final supported numbers attached to the matchup’s conference context. ABC will televise the game when the teams meet at 3:30 p.m. ET on Nov.
7 in Baton Rouge.
