Three years ago, LSU and Alabama engaged in what came to be known as “The Game of the Century.” While that sounds unique, the moniker is one that’s been used over and over for, well, almost a century.

A 9-6 LSU win in overtime, the 2011 version of “The Game of the Century” was a beautiful example of two teams lining up and knocking the hell out of each other. Both LSU and Alabama came in undefeated, ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the nation, respectively. It was the first time in the SEC’s storied history that two of its members met undefeated as the top two teams in the nation.

The two weren’t just the best two teams after eight games. LSU remained No. 1 after the victory, while Alabama slid only to No. 4. Two months later, they were the top two teams in the nation once again, squaring off in the BCS National Championship game. Alabama took the rematch, 21-0, to win its second national championship under Nick Saban.

The “Game of the Century” hype started well before kickoff, with media and fans zeroing in on the game before the season even started, building anticipation up until that November day. It just so happened that the game was just as good as advertised, two teams near the peak of their powers flexing their muscles and swinging sledgehammers at each other.

That LSU-Alabama game wasn’t the first GOTC, and it certainly won’t be the last. Look through news annals (or do some Googling) and you’ll find plenty of games that earned the billing. Most of them are No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns, some featured legendary players putting on legacy-defining performances, others came right down to the wire, and the best of them had some combination of those three.

The first “Game of the Century,” by most accounts, is the 1935 meeting between Ohio State and Notre Dame in Columbus, Ohio, the first meeting between the powerhouse schools. Notre Dame fell behind 13-0, but stormed back with three straight touchdowns to win, 18-13. The irony of calling it the “Game of the Century” isn’t lost on Notre Dame, as its athletics website describes the contest as the school’s “first Game of the Century.”

Since then, there have been a dozen or so other games labeled as GOTCs. Rivalry games that pitted No. 1 against No. 2 have a big leg up in earning the distinction: 2006 Ohio State vs. Michigan, 1991 Florida State vs. Miami, 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, among others. National championship tilts between legendary teams have earned the billing as well, both in pre-game buildup and after incredible contests: The 2006 national championship between Texas and USC, Miami against Penn State in 1987. Players like Vince Young and O.J. Simpson added to or capped off their college legend in contests labeled as Games of the Century.

Not all GOTCs ended up meaning something by the end of the season. Notre Dame knocked off Florida State in a GOTC in 1993, putting them on a collision course with No. 2 Nebraska for the national championship, but the Irish fell to Boston College a week later. The 2011 Alabama-LSU slugfest was rendered irrelevant when the Crimson Tide squashed their rivals from Baton Rouge in a rematch for the national championship.

Do all of these “Games of the Century” render the label any less important? If the college football collective was slapping the moniker on a game every season, it sure would, but the required ingredients for a “Game of the Century” are pretty clear-cut. Who cares if there have been a dozen of them in the last century? If a game lives up to the hype, or surpasses it to the point that people will be raving about it for decades to come, it might as well be commemorated with a name to match.

This weekend’s LSU-Alabama game doesn’t have what it takes to earn the GOTC label. Neither is undefeated, neither is ranked in the top two, only one has a realistic shot at winning the national championship. It has the potential to live up to the legacy the last GOTC left, though: hard-hitting, low-scoring, blood-pressure-raising football. In this weird SEC season, it could well be the game of the year.