If not now, when?

Those four words have framed LSU’s offseason, preseason and regular season. Everything that has transpired since their bowl blowout over Texas Tech has pointed toward Saturday night, toward Tiger Stadium, toward Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide.

All those Tigers juniors didn’t spurn the NFL to pile up stats against Southern Miss and Ole Miss. They returned to Baton Rouge for the opportunity to celebrate a victory, at home, at last, over Alabama.

Tonight they get their chance, and it’s the first of five things I can’t wait to see in and around the SEC in Week 10.

1. Can Leonard Fournette find his cape? Last year, Fournette entered the Alabama game having all but secured the Heisman Trophy. The Tide ended his dreams and the Tigers’ in a physical beatdown that reminded everybody — again — that you can’t out-Alabama Alabama.

Fournette tuned up for the showdown by running for a school-record 284 yards two weeks ago against Ole Miss.

Can he get half that Saturday night?

Under Saban, just seven SEC backs have topped 100 yards rushing against the Tide. Nobody has gotten to 200, and Nick Chubb is the only one to reach triple digits since the 2013 Iron Bowl.

Nov 7, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) is brought down by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson (86) during the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

2. Will Jalen Hurts finally have a freshman moment? It happens. It happens to everybody. We’ve seen it happen several times already to Jacob Eason. It hasn’t happened to Alabama’s Jalen Hurts yet.

Hurts, a coach’s son, seems built for the moment, not matter how big the watch.

It’s remarkable. Remember, Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston didn’t even play as true freshman. Hurts is engineering the most prolific offense in Alabama history. It’s unprecedented.

Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night can be a house of horrors, but Hurts was at his best before 100,000-plus at Tennessee.

LSU, however, has a handful of defenders who soon will be in the NFL.

3. Will Kentucky wake up Sunday in first place in the SEC East? It’s more possible than any time since 1977. The surging Wildcats have won three straight to climb to 4-2 in the SEC. They’re a half game behind Florida, which is 4-1.

The Gators have a tough task Saturday afternoon at Arkansas.

The Gators’ game will be over just about the time Kentucky kicks off against reeling Georgia in front of what could be a capacity crowd at Commonwealth Stadium.

So much is at stake for the Wildcats, who are still seeking to give fourth-year coach Mark Stoops a signature victory and first bowl trip.

Kentucky hasn’t won five SEC games in a season since 1977. This is just the fifth time since then it’s managed to win four. They haven’t been to a bowl game since 2010. They haven’t beaten Georgia since 2009. They haven’t beaten Georgia in Lexington since 2006.

That’s a lot of “nots” for a team that suddenly can.

4. Upset alert? Alabama (65.5 percent), Florida (65.2) and Georgia (58.2) are road favorites this week, according to ESPN’s FPI.

Given the East’s extensive struggles against the West, ESPN’s computers seem to be giving a tad too much respect to the Gators.

Florida’s cornerbacks are spectacular, but Austin Allen would be the best QB in the East. He’s the most capable and dangerous the Gators will have faced this season.

The East race is far from over.

5. Playoff watch: All SEC eyes will be on Baton Rouge, but there’s another national headliner also kicking off at 8 p.m.: No. 10 Nebraska at No. 6 Ohio State.

Consider it an elimination game. Ohio State already trails Michigan in the East, and Nebraska already lost to Wisconsin in the West. A loss all but guarantees Ohio State won’t make it to Indianapolis for the conference championship game, and a loss paints a complicated picture if two-loss Nebraska somehow wins the West and upsets presumable East winner Michigan in the title game.

Could a two-loss Big Ten champion be left out of the playoff? It’s doubtful we’ll get the chance to find out, but these are the kinds of possibilities that keep us watching.

Elsewhere, there’s next to no drama Saturday in the ACC. No. 2 Clemson is almost a four-touchdown favorite at home against Syracuse. No. 7 Louisville is similarly favored against Boston College.

Out West, No. 5 Washington is an 18.5-point favorite at Cal.

There is intrigue in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot, however.

Cal is better than Mississippi State, so if the unbeaten Huskies have a better performance than Texas A&M does in Starkville, we could see a new No. 4 in Tuesday’s CFP Rankings.

It’s closing time. And from here on out, winning isn’t enough. You must win convincingly, impressively.

Chris Wright is Executive Editor at SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at cwright@saturdaydownsouth.com and follow him on Twitter @FilmRoomEditor.