TIME: 3:30 ET
DATE: November 7, 2009
TV: CBS
LINE: Alabama -7 ½
OVER/UNDER: 40

Week after week, the SEC has continued to prove they’re the best conference college football has to offer, and this week’s matchup between #9 LSU and #3 Alabama is expected to be both very competitive and dramatic on and off the field.

Forget about the fact that the conference is supplying another battle of top 10 teams. The better story is that Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban once led LSU to a National Championship.

Alabama is proud to have Saban as the man leading the Tide to a possible championship, while LSU fans are still upset that Saban would leave the Tigers for money and the NFL.

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Although Saban once broke the hearts of Tiger fans, LSU is very happy to have Les Miles and is class of blue chip players he brings to Baton Rouge year after year.

This Saturday No. 3 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) and No. 9 LSU are fighting for a lot more than bragging rights. They’re fighting for a chance to win play Florida in the SEC Championship game with the winner lining up for a place in the BCS 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.

Entering the weekend the SEC has three teams ranked in the top 10. Defending champion Florida is number one with Alabama at No. 3 and LSU at No.9. The winner of this game can take control of the SEC West record with a win. 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.

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.”

Alabama and have combined to win three of the last four SEC West 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 LSU is great but you can’t get caught up in the hype of playing a highly ranked team.

“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.”

Alabama snapped a five-game losing streak to LSU last year, with a 27-21 overtime win on John Parker Wilson’s 1-yard sneak.

Saban led LSU to the BCS championship in 2003 before heading to the NFL to coach the Miami Dolphins. He was one of the best coaches the school’s history, ranking third at the time of his departure.

Les 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.

Saban has turned Alabama into a national championship contender since his arrival in Tuscaloosa and insists the game isn’t about the coaches.

“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 saying in sports is “it doesn’t matter how many sports you score just as long as you score more than your opponent” The defenses might be an even better story line than the coaches this time. Alabama is fifth nationally in scoring defense, LSU is seventh.

Alabama’s top defensive player, linebacker Rolando McClain, says the Tide won’t be affected by the big-game pressure.

“We’ve got coach Saban,” McClain said. “He keeps us focused.”

Some critics have said Alabama isn’t getting better as the season goes along. 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.

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.

“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.”

BETTING TRENDS:
Over is 4-0 in Crimson Tide last 4 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0.
Crimson Tide are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games as a favorite.
Crimson Tide are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a bye week.
Under is 9-2 in Tigers last 11 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.
Under is 20-7-1 in Tigers last 28 games as a road underdog.
Over is 11-4 in Tigers last 15 road games.

HEAD TO HEAD:
Tigers are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings in Alabama.
Favorite is 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 meetings.
Road team is 11-1-1 ATS in their last 13 meetings.