Tide Tidbits - November 3, 2008

Saban downplays his return to LSU
The Associated Press’ new No. 1 Alabama is heading to LSU for a big game between two of the top teams in the SEC. And Nick Saban is returning to the stadium he once ruled. Guess which topic makes the Crimson Tide coach more than a little touchy? “It’s going to be about our players and about our team,” he said after Saturday’s game. “I don’t care how hard anybody tries to make it about something else, it’s not going to be. I’m kind of giving you a little forewarning. “If somebody wants to get a you-know-what chewing this week, that’ll be a good way to get it.”

Nick Saban, No. 1 Tide in the spotlight
Those pesky "external factors" are multiplying for Nick Saban as his surprising football team continues to win games. When Saban makes a long-awaited return to his old stomping ground of LSU at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, he'll bring the nation's top-ranked team with him. Alabama (9-0, 5-0 SEC) was No. 1 in all four major polls Sunday, reaching the peak of the college football hierarchy for the first time during the regular season since November 1980.

Alabama next up at No. 1 in Top 25
Now it's Alabama's turn. The Crimson Tide hasn't been No. 1 since finishing that way after the 1992 season, when coach Gene Stallings, quarterback Jay Barker and a ferocious defense won the last of the Tide's six AP national championships. Alabama's first game as a No. 1 team since October, 27, 1980, will be Saturday at LSU, a date that was one of the most anticipated in the Southeastern Conference even before this season. Tide coach Nick Saban will be coaching in Baton Rouge, La., for the first time since he left the Tigers for the NFL after the 2004 season. Saban led LSU to a BCS national title in 2003.


Roll Tide!