What LSU Players Remember About Past Meetings with Alabama and Why 2019 Will Be Different

Players remember 2011, 2018 matchups with Alabama, striving to break eight game winless streak

When JaCoby Stevens has the opportunity to play against the best, he embraces that challenge head on. For Stevens, Alabama is the best.

The history is well documented as it's been eight excruciatingly long years since the Tigers beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa in that matchup touted the "Game of the Century." 

That game is so cemented in LSU fan's minds that pretty much everyone can pinpoint where they were when kicker Drew Alleman made the game-winning kick in overtime.

"I remember Eric Reid picking the ball off, I remember Morris Claiborne picking the ball off," Stevens said. "I remember that game like it was yesterday. Back then it was ground and pound, handing it to the running backs 30 or 40 times a game. Now everyone is moving towards the spread making the quarterback kind of like the point guard, distributing the ball."

The players obviously vividly remember last year's 29-0 shutout in Death Valley in 2018, a game that much like 2011 had the hype but little spice once kickoff came around.

"We obviously didn't play well last year and that should be motivation enough," center Lloyd Cushenberry said. "Anytime you lose it's going to be frustrating and we didn't play up to our standards. We know we can't do that this year. I feel like we have a great group of motivated guys so we don't have to do too much talking about this matchup."

"Last year's game was a real blur to me," receiver Ja'Marr Chase said. "How fast the game was played, I really wasn't ready at that time. I didn't play too much in the game so that's probably the one thing I remember most about last year."

The build up to this 2019 matchup is something the players have talked about among themselves, trying not to make it a bigger deal than it already is. LSU comes in ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time since 2011 and finally boasts the offensive talent to keep up with Tua Tagovailoa and the Crimson Tide.

"If you have an opportunity to play against the best, I'm not going to turn that down," Stevens said of Tua and Alabama. "Every day I watch a video of Michael Jordan, one of the greatest competitors ever, of a highlight tape of him competing and having that fire. That mindset is what I try to mimic with every challenge."

Stevens along with wide receiver Terrace Marshall have made it a point to not overthink about what a win or a loss could mean for their season. 

LSU coach Ed Orgeron said this week is all about focusing on the Tigers, something the players have embraced, but that doesn't mean they still aren't talking about what's to come.

"I try to treat every game like the most important game because it's the next game," Marshall said. "We're preparing just like we'd prepare for every other game."

"Although in practice we're focusing on ourselves, you can at least watch film on your opponent," Stevens said. "Today for example, I told Kary [Vincent] to go look at the LSU hot folder on film and study different glance routes Alabama might throw at us."

While much of this week was focused on improving the fundamentals, LSU player's understand the importance of the game directly in front of them and will stop at nothing to snap that 0-8 streak against the Tide.

Just ask receiver Justin Jefferson, who was asked about Alabama after the team's win over Auburn.

"We're going to dominate, we're going to dominate," Jefferson said. "I mean, there's nothing much to it. We owe them so we're going to get to it."