LSU head coach Lane Kiffin expressed surprise after the SEC announced a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff for the Nov. 7 rivalry game against Alabama, breaking a six-year streak of night games in Baton Rouge.
"I never even considered that it wouldn't be at night," Kiffin said during a Wednesday teleconference. "I didn't even think to think about the time. I just assumed, especially since the last 16 years, this game has been at night here all the time. I guess that's probably naive of me."
The last time Alabama and LSU played a daytime game in Baton Rouge was 2010. The SEC instead awarded the primetime slot to Ole Miss, Kiffin's former program, for its home game against Georgia.
Kiffin suggests SEC motive
Amid ongoing legal disputes between Kiffin, LSU and the conference, the coach joked that the schedule change might be retaliatory. "I was joking to [LSU SID Michael Bonnette] earlier, saying obviously the SEC wanted to change it from how it's been to give LSU less of an advantage because of how well LSU plays at night and how intimidating it is to play here," Kiffin said. "I was like, 'If someone thinks the SEC wants us to win this year after what's been going on, they must've just been on Mars the last four months.'"
Night-game history vs. Alabama
Since 2012, LSU has hosted Alabama at night every other year, posting a 1-6 record in those seven matchups. The lone victory came in 2022 (32-31), while the most recent meeting in 2024 ended in a 42-13 Alabama win. The 2019 showdown between No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Alabama also kicked off at 3:30 p.m. ET despite being one of the most anticipated games of the century.
Despite the daytime start, Tiger Stadium is expected to provide a hostile atmosphere. LSU enters the game with at least two losses, meaning a defeat would severely narrow its College Football Playoff path and increase pressure on Kiffin.
