Alabama Comes to Tiger Stadium at 2:30 Saturday on ABC, the First Daytime Kickoff in the Series There Since 2010

No. 15 LSU hosts No. 9 Alabama at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Tiger Stadium, with the game on ABC. Kickoff and network come from LSU Athletics and the SEC broadcast schedule, and LSU says it is the first daytime start for the series in Baton Rouge since 2010.

Both teams enter the game at 6-2. LSU is 3-2 in the SEC after a 38-17 win at Auburn on Oct. 24. Alabama is 4-2 in conference play after beating Texas A&M, 31-20, the same weekend. After the open week, a Thursday check of LSU's schedule page and the SEC slate still showed the same Nov. 7 kickoff and television assignment.

For fans used to this rivalry under the lights, the daytime start is the news. In its Oct. 26 release, LSU said the 2:30 start would be the first daytime kickoff for an Alabama game in Tiger Stadium since Nov. 6, 2010, when the Tigers won 24-21. LSU's Alabama week game notes repeat that claim and call Saturday the first day game between the teams in Baton Rouge since that 2010 meeting. The notes also list LSU as No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and Alabama as No. 9.

The series still leans Alabama's way. The same LSU notes say Alabama leads the all-time series 58-27-5 dating to 1895, including a 20-9 win in Tuscaloosa last season and a 42-13 win in Tiger Stadium on Nov. 9, 2024. LSU's most recent home win in the series was a 32-31 overtime victory in 2022. Saturday will be the 91st meeting.

For people going to campus, LSU's gameday pages cover the practical rules. All stadium gates open two hours before kickoff, and suite and club areas open three hours before. Most reserved parking lots open at 7 a.m. Free public parking, shown in grey on LSU's parking map, is limited and first-come, first-served, according to LSU's tailgating and parking policies. Free ADA parking is at the back of Lot 406, with a shuttle to the stadium. Rideshare drop-off and pickup also run through Lot 406. Because this is a 2:30 start, LSU's fan guide says the Athletics Ticket Office opens at 8 a.m. CT for kickoffs at 2:30 or earlier.

Inside the stadium, the clear bag policy remains in force. LSU allows clear tote bags no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, one-gallon clear freezer bags, and small clutches no larger than 4.5 by 6.5 inches, per its Tiger Stadium policies. Fans without bags can use Express Lanes at selected gates. Tiger Stadium is a no-re-entry venue. One factory-sealed water bottle of 32 ounces or less is allowed; outside food and other beverages are not. Umbrellas are banned. The home theme for Nov. 7 is LSU Salutes, listed on LSU's schedule and promotions pages.

On ABC, Chris Fowler has play-by-play and Kirk Herbstreit is the analyst, with Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge on the sidelines, according to the LSU notes. Radio coverage is on the LSU Sports Radio Network, with Chris Blair on play-by-play. LSU's notes also say the Tigers are 16-1 in their last 17 Tiger Stadium games with a 2:30 kickoff dating to 2010, a separate daytime mark from the Alabama-series claim.

Saturday also closes the high school football regular season across the state. Readers following both levels can check our earlier guide to how the LHSAA sets high school football playoff brackets. Anyone already in Baton Rouge for the weekend can look back at the Louisiana Book Festival in downtown Baton Rouge, and satsuma season in South Louisiana is underway for anyone stopping at a fruit stand on the drive.

Photo: WClarke, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized). Tiger Stadium exterior on a football gameday in Baton Rouge, Nov. 5, 2016.