Saturday afternoon in Tiger Stadium marks the annual playing of perhaps the most underrated and unpredictable rivalry in the country, as the No. 1 LSU Fighting Tigers take on the No. 19 Tigers of Auburn in a 2:30 pm kickoff. The game will be televised nationally on Columbia Broadcasting System, a/k/a CBS. Did you know that's what CBS stood for? It might as well be called the LSU Network, as this is the third Tiger game in a row to be broadcast on CBS with at least two more to follow later this year.

Anyway, it has become customary for me to use the LSU/Auburn game as a platform to explain how Auburn represents all that is wrong with college football. Auburn bought a national championship, probably paid refs to make sure calls went its way in at least two LSU games, ordered its offensive line to take out Glenn Dorsey, smoked cigars on the Tiger Stadium field following an upset victory, went from one classless coach to another, and committed countless other heinous acts of dishonor, disgrace, and corruption.

But let's go in a different direction this year and not focus exclusively on the putrid state of affairs that is Auburn football. Unlike Auburn, numbers don't lie, so let's look at the LSU/Auburn matchup through a numerical lens and throw in a few figures that admittedly have very little to do with Saturday's showdown.

6 -- minutes out of 420 that LSU has trailed its opponents this year.

7/11 -- the LSU/Auburn winner has won the SEC West and advanced to Atlanta for the SEC Championship in 7 of the last 11 years.

31 -- total points allowed by LSU's defense in four SEC games this year.

6 -- Coors Light marketing gimmicks I can think of at the moment, and I'm confident I'm missing some. We've got the Frost Brewed Liner, the Vented Wide Mouth Can, the mountains that turn blue when it's cold, the "cold" and "super cold" indicators, and the "Cold Activation Window." I love me some Colorado Kool-Aid!

10/11 -- the home team in the LSU/Auburn series has won 10 of the past 11 meetings.

76 -- consecutive years in which the Bayou Bengals have played an SEC night game in Death Valley.

0 -- number of SEC night games in Death Valley this year.

1999 -- the last time Auburn notched a victory in Baton Rouge.

5 -- number of ranked teams LSU has faced this season, including Auburn.

1973 -- the last time LSU achieved an 8-0 record, which it can match with a win over Auburn on Saturday.

440 -- rushing yards compiled by Auburn last year against LSU.

7 and 11 -- jersey numbers of LSU's best defensive and offensive players, respectively, both of whom are reportedly suspended for the Auburn game as a result of failing drug tests. With so much on the line, these players put themselves before the team. If, as rumored, this is the second drug test they failed, then these guys either have a problem or they're morons. I went to Dixie Basketball Camp as a kid and we had a chant for guys like this. It was simple: "Selfish, selfish, selfish . . ."

1987 -- year in which the infamous Miami Hurricane football team was mired in scandal, outrageous off-field incidents, out of control players, etc. Comparisons have already been made to this year's LSU squad.

2 -- pounds of bacon called for in John Besh's jambalaya I'm making on Saturday. That is a hell of a lot of bacon.

Numbers aside, regardless of what happens on Saturday and the duration of the season, would you expect anything less than another roller coaster ride for the LSU Tigers? As a longtime reader from Old Metairie, La. put it recently, there's never a dull moment with a Les Miles program.

Prediction:

LSU 36
Auburn 12

Geaux Tigers!