LSU QB Sam Leavitt reveals what he hears from fans before Alabama game

LSU Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt has been in Baton Rouge for less than a year, after arriving from the Arizona State Sun Devils in the offseason, and Louisiana has already made sure he knows what Saturday means.

Speaking to reporters at LSU's player availability on Tuesday, he described how the message finds him on ordinary errands before the Alabama Crimson Tide come to Tiger Stadium.

"It's going to be the biggest game of the year. I hear all the time if I'm going to the store to grab something, getting food or whatever, they're saying, 'Hey, go beat Bama.' So, you know, obviously it means a lot, and for me to be in this position, being a little kid, looking back, and if someone told me 'Bama was playing LSU on Saturday, I was going to be watching that game. So, being from the West Coast and fantasizing about watching a game down here, now being a part of it, it's a surreal and special experience," Leavitt said.

Leavitt grew up in West Linn, Oregon, where he was 14 when LSU beat Alabama 46-41 in 2019. The people stopping him at the store have a more recent game in mind. Alabama has won three straight in the series since LSU's 32-31 overtime win in Baton Rouge in 2022, including a 42-13 win at Tiger Stadium in 2024 and a 20-9 win in Tuscaloosa last November. Saturday is also Lane Kiffin's first shot at the Crimson Tide as LSU's head coach.

Why does Sam Leavitt's 'biggest game' claim hold up for LSU?

The selection committee put LSU at No. 14 in Tuesday's first College Football Playoff rankings, two spots outside the top 12. The next three weeks bring No. 5 Alabama, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns and a trip to the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers, which means a loss on Saturday would send a three-loss team into the Texas game. Every quarterback calls the next opponent the biggest of the year at some point, and Leavitt's version comes with a schedule that backs him.

Leavitt was less interested in the committee's number when asked about it. "I really don't care. At the end of the day, we've got to go win games. We could be 1 or 50, and if we go win or lose the next five or four, that ranking doesn't even apply," Leavitt said , according to Tiger Rag's Glenn Guilbeau.

LSU sits nine spots behind Alabama in those rankings and was still a six-point favorite at BetMGM on Monday. The Tigers have the No. 6 offense in the country at 510 yards per game, and they scored 31 and 38 in their last two games, wins over the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers.

"I think it's going to be the best defense we played. There's not really many holes, and their DC does a great job. They play really hard. They go after the ball, so it's going to be a very emotional and a high-stakes game. And I'm really excited to go play against them," Leavitt said .

Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, the first daytime meeting between the teams in Tiger Stadium since LSU's 24-21 win in 2010.