T-Bob Hebert explains why the LSU-Alabama game has high value for ESPN
T-Bob Hebert says there’s no need for Alabama and LSU fans to fear, the rivalry game will never go away. As the conference ushers in new teams Oklahoma and Texas in 2024, a proposed 9-game slate will give teams 3 permanent opponents and 6 rotating games each year.
What does the new schedule mean for the heated rivalry between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide? Nothing, according to Hebert. The Tigers and Tide have met in every season since 1964, and most predictions have Alabama and LSU matched as permanent opponents.
Hebert has good reason to believe the LSU vs. Alabama matchup will be on the TV screen for future generations, stating “TV revenue drives everything.” CBS chose the matchup as their only night game for decades, while also breaking viewership records multiple times. In 2011 and 2019, the matchup was declared “the game of the century”, and ESPN once dedicated an entire issue to the rivalry.”
You can watch Herbert’s thoughts in the full video below. A decision about permanent opponents and scheduling is still pending.
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Saban should want to play LSU each season, just as Kelly wants to play Alabama.
It’s about TV ratings. I think the viewing public perceives it as a bigger rivalry than it actually is. It gets hyped. I can understand that, and they have played some good games. I’d still prefer Florida.
Agreed.
As a Gator, I wouldn’t. I’m over the LSU game and have been since y’alls old administration whined and complained about a hurricane in 2016. Of all the schools in the conference, LSU decides to die on that hill. Should’ve ended it then. Rightfully, we won the game with a goal line stand.
We’ve had some battles over the years for sure, and LSU fans by and large are great – the tailgates at both The Swamp and Death Valley are fantastic – but that Joe Alleva incident was the end for me.
Florida/LSU was always a forced “rivalry” anyway.
Alleva is gone. Harboring ill feelings is such a waste of time and energy. I’m sure LSU winning the last four has no impact on your opinion.
Forced? They have played every year since 1971. That’s 21 years before expansion. 52 consecutive years. Tied at 33 wins each. And the players hate each other. Rivalries don’t get much better.
Not me. I like lining up against the best and seeing how we stack up. I know they all count the same but it just feels different to me when we beat Bama.
Hard to argue with that. Bama has been the standard for so long, everyone likes to beat them. And they are always the team in LSU’s way. It would be a better rivalry if Bama didn’t have a 2-1 edge in wins. I guess the only way to change that is to play them and win some.
Well I understand the Florida thing as well. It seems a lot of the players feel that way too.