I reached a couple of milestones last weekend.

I celebrated my 50th birthday last Friday. Few people knew how old I was until my younger brother posted it on facebook. I know I’m getting old, I just didn’t need the reminder of being a half century old.

The second milestone was odd, as if it came from the Twilight Zone.

I attended my first-ever Alabama football game at night. The top-ranked Crimson Tide (7-0) hammered Tennessee – at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. For 30 seconds, the lights went out and were replaced by red and white lights.

I’ve covered Alabama football games six times while working at The Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald.  Included in that total was a pair of national championship games in 1992 and 2011. Two were College Football Playoff games.

I don’t count those games with the regular season because they occurred in the postseason, usually around New Year’s Day.

One milestone that I won’t see happen is the LSU-Alabama contest played at night. For the first time since 2010, Alabama and LSU will be on CBS at 2:30 p.m.. I’ve attended the LSU-Alabama games five times, including the 21-0 victory for the 2011 national title at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

I was actually looking forward to attending the LSU-Alabama game at night, especially this year because both teams rank one-two in the Associated Press and Coaches’ polls. Both should bring unbeaten 8-0 records into the Nov. 9 contest at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

CBS’ broadcast rights deal with the SEC allowed for one primetime game each year. The network opted for a Top 10 showdown in Athens, Georgia between Georgia and Notre Dame.

I’m sure CBS is regretting the decision now because both the Bulldogs and FIghting Irish are both barely hanging around the college playoff race.

While Alabama has dominated the rivalry since 2011, the Crimson Tide and Bayou Bengals deserved a primetime spot.

Last year’s game had 11.54 million viewers — up 72 percent from the 2017 game’s 6.73 million viewers, according to sportsmediawatch.com. The Georgia-Notre Dame game had a viewership of 9.29 million.

I didn’t expect CBS to move the Alabama-LSU game from afternoon to night.  That’s a shame. The game deserved a prime-time showing.