Ahead of Alabama’s high-profile matchup against LSU, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was asked about the future of Alabama’s rivalry with the Tigers as the SEC gets set to enter a new era of scheduling.

LSU could lose its yearly appearance on Alabama’s schedule depending on what format the SEC adopts. The conference is deciding between an eight-game conference schedule with one fixed rivalry game each season or a nine-game schedule that would have three permanent rivalry games and six rotating conference opponents.

Saban’s comments Wednesday indicated his interest in keeping the LSU rivalry in place.

"I think this is a great game that has tremendous fan interest,” Saban said on Wednesday's SEC teleconference. “It's been a great game for however long I've been here. They've got a great atmosphere, and we've got a great atmosphere at our stadium. Both fan bases look forward to the game. I think as many of these fan-interest, rivalry games, whatever you want to call them, that we can keep over time is beneficial to the conference and beneficial to the players who play the game."

Saban added that if Alabama only plays one of the games between LSU, Auburn and Tennessee moving forward, there will inevitably be a fanbase that’s left disappointed. He also said that with three fixed rivals, there’s a better chance of preserving games that have a large fan interest.

LSU coach Brian Kelly had a similar tune to Saban on the future of the Crimson Tide’s matchup with the Tigers.

"Each school I think has those natural rivalries, and certainly, in talking to Scott Woodward, our AD, he and I both would be in agreement that LSU-Alabama is a game that we would like to see played every year." Kelly said on the SEC teleconference.

In March, Saban expressed concern over the nine-game conference model. His argument at the time was that Alabama's proposed permanent rivals — Auburn, LSU and Tennessee — are all traditional SEC powerhouses, which would put the Crimson Tide at a competitive disadvantage if it had to face those schools every season.

“I’ve always been an advocate for playing more [conference] games,” Saban told Sports Illustrated at the time. “But if you play more games, I think you have to get the three fixed [opponents] right. They’re giving us Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. I don’t know how they come to that [decision].”

With Texas and Oklahoma entering the conference, the SEC is trying out an eight-game slate next season before making a decision on how it wants to approach scheduling moving forward. Alabama and LSU are set to play next year in Baton Rouge, but it's uncertain if the rivalry will remain an annual affair after that.

In the meantime, this season’s matchup, as it often does, has huge implications for both schools in 2023.

No. 8 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 in the SEC) will look to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive Saturday as it hosts No. 14 LSU (6-2, 4-1) at 6:45 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.