LSU-Alabama ... Enough said

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 7, 2009

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There’s the former coach angle, but thankfully that seems to have died down after a few years.

There’s the battle of top-10 teams, which is meaningful because whoever prevails today between No. 9-ranked LSU and No. 3 Alabama is alive and well in the national championship hunt.

There’s the battle for supremacy in the Southeastern Conference West Division — a little less prominent on the national level, but of utmost importance for two passionate fan bases who want bragging ammunition for the next 365 days.

And there’s the notion the Crimson Tide is poised to supplant the Tigers as a top-shelf national contender, Alabama’s inevitable bid to reclaim its spot as a heavyweight in college football.

All of the above — any of the above — contribute to a complex, juicy and multi-layered plot when LSU (7-1, 4-1) and Alabama (8-0, 5-0) collide at Bryant-Denny Stadium (2:30 p.m. on CBS).

The simple facts:

Today marks the first time since 2005 the Tigers and Tide square off when both are ranked in the top 10 and just the second time since 1978.

If Alabama wins, it claims a tie for the West crown and the division’s spot in the SEC Championship game against Florida.

A Tigers victory allows them to climb into a tie for the West lead and gives LSU the tiebreaker with the Tide. Both teams have two games each remaining against division foes. Alabama could regain the upper hand if it beats Mississippi State and Auburn on the road and the Tigers stumble either at Ole Miss or at home vs. Arkansas.

“The national championship game or SEC Championship game or any bowl game we get to isn’t as important as this one,” LSU linebacker Perry Riley said. “To get to any game we want to go to later in the year, we have to get through this one.”

Added senior left tackle Ciron Black, “This is another step to get back into the championship game of our conference. Alabama is right there in the way of what we want to achieve this season. It’s right there for us. We just have to reach out and get it.”

Of course, the Crimson Tide has those same aspirations and arguably more to lose.

In Nick Saban’s third season, Alabama vaulted back to the top of the SEC and into the national consciousness. The Tide has been ranked in the top four every week this season and climbed into the top spot for a week.