The best game of the 21st century?

Eh, probably not.

The best game this season?

You betcha.

The two best teams in the country out of the best conference in the country met in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday night as No. 1 LSU visited No. 2 Alabama. Deemed by many as the “Game of the Century,” the game was only the third regular season No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown since 2000.

The nation’s best two defenses dominated from first snap to the last snap in overtime as LSU kicker Drew Alleman booted a 25-yard field goal, his third of the night, as the Tigers defeated the favored Crimson Tide 9-6.

It was a unique game in that it did not come down to which quarterback could reach the higher number of passing yards or which running back could make break more tackles — although Alabama running back Trent Richardson broke plenty.

The game was unique in that Alabama’s kicker tandem of Cade Foster and Jeremy Shelley missed a combined four field goals. LSU punter Brad Wing bombed a 73-yard punt and pinned the Crimson Tide within their own 20-yard line four times. And neither team crossed the goal line in the three-hour and 21-minute slugfest.

In a day and age where every bit of contact beyond five yards is immediately thought to be a pass interference call and a defensive lineman that takes a quarterback to the ground a split-second after releasing the ball is immediately labeled a dirty player and flagged for roughing the passer, this game bucked the trend.

This was good-old-fashioned smash-mouth, ground and pound, in-between-the-tackles football with 71 rushes for 244 yards between the two teams. On defense, the gameplans and execution in this game had defensive coaches around the country drooling.

Four interceptions by four defensive backs that will all play on Sundays kept fans and viewers on the edge of their seats.

LSU defensive end Sam Montgomery may have put it best after the game: “It was a classical battle, it should have been on pay-per-view.”

Fans of boxing and ultimate fighting have to pay to watch the best cards, and we on the sports editorial board would have emptied our pockets to see this SEC slobberknocker on Saturday night.

We, like many college football fans, switched over to ESPN right as LSU kicker Drew Alleman’s field goal split the uprights to be able to witness No. 3 Oklahoma State hang on for a 52-45 win over No. 14 Kansas State in the closing seconds. Immediately, some fans, especially in Big 12 country, awarded the game of the night tag to the Cowboys and Wildcats.

Not so fast. We’ve seen that game before.

It was the seventh game this season in Big 12 conference play in which 80 or more points were scored. Give credit to both of those teams for an entertaining and hard-fought game, but the night still belonged to the Tide and the Tigers.

It was a phenomenal No. 1 and No. 2 battle. And who knows? We may see round two in New Orleans on Jan. 9.