LSU enters a critical November stretch after the first College Football Playoff rankings placed the Tigers 14th nationally, behind six other SEC teams. The Tigers are one of four top-15 teams without a ranked win this season, having lost at Ole Miss and Kentucky while victories over then-ranked Texas A&M and Mississippi State have lost luster as both opponents have struggled since.
Metrics such as game control (4th nationally), strength of schedule (23rd) and strength of record (16th) currently support LSU's resume, but the remaining schedule is the third-toughest in college football, with No. 7 Texas, No. 13 Tennessee and Arkansas awaiting after Saturday's matchup against No. 5 Alabama.
Head coach Lane Kiffin is 0-5 all-time against Alabama and 13-26 overall against ranked opponents. He acknowledged the high stakes, saying, "I think November meaningful games, I don't mean this arrogantly, that's what we've been used to for a lot of years now, really every year. I'm glad that's where we are right now, we should be even better position, but you guys know the (one) game that haunts that of the position we're in, so it is what it is and less margin for error than we would have. We've got to make sure that we perform really well against a really good team that's coached really well."
Alabama's two ranked wins came against Kentucky and South Carolina, teams that were unranked at the time but have since surged. Kiffin emphasized physicality and execution during the open week, describing the Crimson Tide as "the most talented team we've played so far" when considering all 22 starters.
