The LSU football team landed back in Baton Rouge on Saturday evening just as Alabama, of all teams, officially punched the Tigers' tickets to the 2022 SEC Championship next month.

The No. 9 Crimson Tide (8-2, 5-2) kneeled out a 30-24 victory at No. 11 Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2) that, paired with No. 7 LSU's 13-10 defeat of Arkansas (5-5, 2-4) hours earlier, finalized the SEC West race.

The Tigers finished the day a game ahead of both Alabama and the Rebels after beating the teams head-to-head in their previous two games.

LSU steps outside of conference next week at home against UAB before closing the regular season on the road at Texas A&M.

Brian Kelly becomes the fourth coach in the conference's history to lead his team to the title game in his first year at the helm.