A smarter way to bet

By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.(AP) -- Just another game. Or a top-10 showdown
that could help set up a one-game playoff with Florida for a
shot at the BCS national championship.

The next one. Or an our-coach-is-better-than-yours statement
game.

Take your pick, even the Alabama players don't seem quite sure
how to treat Saturday's game between the No. 3 Crimson Tide
(8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) and No. 9 LSU that might just
be the next best thing to a Tide-Gators championship game.

They can downplay it in one breath: "If we were playing the
smallest school in the country, it would still be a big game
because it's the next game. That's just the way this team
operates," Tide quarterback Greg McElroy said Monday.

And talk it up the next. "This game is huge. It's huge for the
coaching staff, it's huge for us, it's huge for our fan base,"
McElroy said.

It could wind up being huge in the national title race, too.
Alabama coach Nick Saban meets his old team in a game that could
send his current one to the SEC championship game. The Tide only
has to win to secure a spot.

Or LSU (7-1, 4-1) could win and take control of the SEC West.

It's a timely infusion of drama in a league that is threatening
to end the regular season without a whole lot of suspense. No. 1
Florida has already walked away with the East.

South Carolina and Mississippi fell out of the Top 25 this week,
leaving only three SEC teams in the rankings.

Sounds like a good time for a big game. The coaches take
somewhat different approaches publicly. Saban scolded a reporter
who asked whether he'd treat this game any differently.

"If you've listened to anything I've said," he said, "you would
not even ask the question."

LSU's Les Miles doesn't shy from discussing the game's
magnitude.

"Since I've been here, this team enjoys playing big games,"
Miles said. "It only counts one, but it's a very important one.
We always want to honor our best opponent with our best effort.
Every time we play Alabama, home or on the road, we realize that
it's going to be a very competitive game. It matches two of the
best college football programs in the country.

"Our football team wants to compete for the Western Division
championship every year. That's this game. The game is very
significant. Our guys understand that."

These two teams have combined to win three of the last four
division titles. They're standing in each other's way once
again.

"This is what you come to LSU for," Tigers linebacker Perry
Riley said. "The national championship game, the SEC
championship game and a bowl game are not as important as this
game. To get to any of those games at the end of the year, we
have to win this game."

Alabama running back Mark Ingram said the focus has to be on
getting better in the film room and on the practice field.

"Of course it's easier said than done," he said. "Everybody
knows how big a game it is, but we've just got to stay
levelheaded and treat it like any other game."

Saban finally managed to turn the tide in the rivalry last
season. Alabama snapped a five-game losing streak to LSU with a
27-21 overtime win on John Parker Wilson's 1-yard sneak. Leigh
Tiffin had a 29-yard field goal blocked on the final play of
regulation, giving LSU fans hope that they would send Saban back
to his new home with a loss.

Saban led LSU to the BCS championship in 2003 before heading to
the NFL to coach the Miami Dolphins. He has already turned the
Tide into the team to beat in the SEC West, though LSU still has
the best record in the league over the past six seasons, at
70-16.

Miles just passed Saban to take over third place in school
history with 49 wins as head coach with last Saturday's 42-0
victory over Tulane. He did it in 61 games; Saban needed 64 to
reach his 48 wins.

Then again, maybe Saban versus Miles/LSU has become old news.
Saban wasn't even asked Monday about facing his old team.

"The game is about the players," he insisted, trying to head off
those questions. "There's a lot of good players and this is two
very good teams that have good players on both sides."

The defenses might be an even better story line than the coaches
this time. Alabama is fifth nationally in scoring defense, LSU
is seventh.

The anchor of Alabama's defense, linebacker Rolando McClain,
succinctly explains his belief that the Tide won't be affected
by the big-game pressure.

"We've got coach Saban," McClain said. "He keeps us focused."

Alabama has only played three ranked teams this season, South
Carolina, Mississippi and Virginia Tech. Only the 22nd-ranked
Hokies are still hanging in there.

The Tide slipped a spot in the polls each of the past two weeks,
first after barely beating Tennessee and then again on the
team's open date. Now, the former No. 1 team is ranked behind
Florida and Texas.

"What's going to matter is at the end, if we keep beating
everybody and we eventually get to those guys and we beat them,
enough said," Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas said. "This is
just for right now. This is what they have to do because those
three teams haven't met. If and when we do meet, whoever wins,
it will speak for himself."