The South Carolina Gamecocks face the No. 11 LSU Tigers, led by quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

The Iron Bowl is both an SEC and Rivalry Week staple. The Tide have dominated the series, with a 51-137 overall mark in the rivalry. Alabama has also won 13 of the last 16 meetings dating back to 2008. The Tigers longest win streak in the series is when it won six straight from 2002-07.

Vanderbilt football is ranked No. 18, up two spots, in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll released Oct. 12 after Week 7. The Commodores (5-1, 1-1 SEC) were off this past week. Vanderbilt football lost to Alabama, 30-14 on Oct. 4, for its first defeat of the season. Previous Vanderbilt victories include road wins over South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) continue navigating game preparation for the South Carolina Gamecocks with the program looking to get back on trac

The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off back-to-back ranked wins, having beat No. 10 Georgia and No. 20 Vanderbilt in their last two games. The two wins have seemingly erased discussions about the program’s demise which were brought on by the Crimson Tide’s opening week defeat at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles.

The Southeastern Conference unveiled how its new nine-game conference scheduling format will look between 2026-29 on Tuesday, along with confirming each SEC team’s three “annual” rivals during the same timeframe.

The SEC late Saturday announced its kickoff times and TV information for Week 8, games of Oct. 18. All 16 SEC teams are in action next week, with the top games including Tennessee at Alabama, Ole Miss at Georgia and LSU at Vanderbilt. For the first time this season, every game will be SEC vs. SEC.

For all the newfound parity, there’s a plausible scenario where the same three SEC teams that made last year’s CFP (Texas, Georgia and Tennessee) make it again, along with Alabama, which is not exactly an upstart. Or it could still be four or five other teams.

Streaks made to be broken: Missouri has won 15 straight games at home, the second-longest active streak in the FBS. Alabama has defeated Mizzou six straight times. The Tigers last defeated the Tide in 1975.

It took multiple years, but former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban will reportedly get his way, as the Crimson Tide won't face LSU as one of its annual SEC opponents.

The No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide battle the No. 14 Missouri Tigers in SEC play today. Find out how to watch this game for free.