There is already a lot of hype around campus involving this Saturday’s “Game of the Century” between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide football teams, but it looks like the Crimson Tide football team is not the only one who has a date with the Tigers this weekend.

This Friday, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams continue their season as they travel to Baton Rouge, La., to take on Southeastern Conference rival, the LSU Tigers.

The Tide has already begun its process of working towards winning the SEC championship and the NCAA Championships in the spring.

Last year, when both teams faced LSU, head coach Eric McIlquham said the two teams split the match.

“The men won, and the women came up just a little bit short,” he said, “We’re evenly matched. Both meets came down to the last two events.”

This time around, McIlquham said he expects a great meet down at LSU, as he does every year, where he hopes that his swimmers and divers will knock them out of the park.

“Our main goal of this meet is to score more points than them,” McIlquham said. “If they go first, we need to be second.”

McIlquham said his team and LSU’s team have very similar styles.

“It’s kind of similar to football because we match up very well, and it’s like a mirror image of both the teams,” McIlquham said. “They have very similar strengths and very similar weaknesses.”

When dealing with an SEC team like LSU, there is no doubt they will be a tough opponent for the Tide.

“LSU is motivation enough for me,” McIlquham said. “All we’ve been hearing about all week is LSU and Alabama.”

After this meet, the Tide returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 1, where both teams will compete in the three-day meet at the USA Swimming National Championships in Atlanta, Ga., where the athletes have a chance to qualify for the Olympic trials.