LSU Vs Alabama Dominated by Nick Saban

The rest of the college football season will be jam packed with BCS implications, end-of-the-year rivalries, and controversy galore. But that doesn't mean there isn't room for Nick Saban to overshadow everything for a week. Saban has already made it big this year leading Alabama back to national prominence and a number one ranking. But none of that really matters this week now that Saban is back at LSU for the first time since leaving the Tigers.

Saban turned LSU into a national powerhouse in his tenure there, before abandoning them for a failed stint coaching the Miami Dolphins. Since Saban came back to college football at one of LSU's SEC rivals, the bad blood between Alabama and LSU has been major.

Saban first faced LSU in Alabama, where the future national champions beat him and the Crimson Tide. But this time, Saban and Alabama are going to Baton Rogue, where countless hostile Tigers fans are waiting to greet Saban back.

The LSU fans still obsess over Saban despite the fact they never won a national championship with him, and his replacement, Les Miles, did. But LSU is not at full strength this year, ranked 16'th with two blowout losses to Florida and Georgia that knocked the Tigers out of the national title picture.

Now the only thing left for the Tigers to do is salvage a New Year's Day bowl berth, and keep Les Miles off of the hot seat.

On the other hand, Alabama and Saban come in undefeated, ranked number 1, and on the way to an SEC title if not a national one. One loss could derail all of that, and the Tigers will be able to salvage their season if they did that to Saban.

If Alabama gets past LSU, they will have two straight games against teams with losing records before a possible SEC title game showdown with Florida. Such a matchup could mean that the winner of that game, no matter who it is, would go to the national championship game.

Alabama and Saban will take up much of the afternoon buzz in college football. At the same time, number 3 Penn State will try to beat Iowa on the road and hope for a slipup from Alabama. That night, new BCS darling Texas Tech will try to win another prime time showdown at home against Oklahoma State.

LSU vs. Alabama will air at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS.

Sources

The Huntsville Times- "Saban returns to LSU in style" www.al.com/alabamafootball/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf