LSU wants to roll Tide, Saban

Today’s game between No. 3 Louisiana State and No. 17 Alabama is a high-stakes division showdown with major Southeastern Conference and national title implications, featuring a once-dominant program battling back toward the top and another trying to stay there.

But the buzz surrounding the game is not about the game. It’s about Nick Saban.

This is the first time the Alabama Coach will face the team he led to the 2003 Bowl Championship Series title before bolting for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL and leaving Louisiana State -- and, for that matter, the state -- feeling abandoned.

“I’m sure some of those people are anxious for this game,” Saban said.

Saban became a traitor in the eyes of Tigers fans when he left the Dolphins after only two seasons and returned to college football -- at Alabama of all places.

Alabama is a conference rival, and the rivalry comes to a head today because the teams are tied atop the SEC West standings.

Tigers fans hoping to see Saban get knocked out of first place have bombarded Louisiana State with 33,000 ticket requests. The school was allotted 7,000.

“What took everybody by surprise was that he would come back to not only the SEC, but right into our division,” said Herb Vincent, who serves as a liaison between LSU’s athletic department and its fundraising group. “That adds a little bit of an edge to this game.”

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It’s his forte

Tulane’s Matt Forte may be the best running back nobody outside of New Orleans has heard of.

He’s definitely the major division player with the most yards rushing.

Forte leads the nation with 1,539. He has rushed for more than 200 yards in a game five times, surpassing 300 yards twice, and has already set Tulane’s single-season rushing record.

He enters today’s home game against Tulsa with a string of four consecutive 200-yard games. One more and he ties an NCAA record shared by North Texas’ Jamario Thomas and Heisman Trophy winners Marcus Allen and Barry Sanders.

Forte’s gaudy stats were enough to get Tulane’s sports information department to begin a Heisman Trophy campaign.

“They don’t compare us to the Southeastern Conference or the Pac-10 or what have you. . . . He’s being slighted because of that,” Tulane Coach Bob Toledo said. “When he gets to the NFL, he’ll prove to everybody that he’s a great, great running back.”

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Game time

Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio has made it clear that his No. 1 priority is beating rival Michigan.

To make sure everyone was on the same page, he had clocks that counted down the time until the Michigan game installed at the Spartans practice facility.

“At least they’ll be on time for the game,” Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long joked.

This is the 100th meeting between the teams and No. 15 Michigan (7-2, 5-0 in Big Ten play) is trying to shake off an embarrassing start and make a run at the conference title.

Michigan State (5-4, 1-4) started 4-0 and needs another win to keep alive its hopes of playing in a bowl game.

“We can pretend it’s not, but it’s a big game,” Dantonio said.

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Fighting spirit

South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier says he would have started a fight if he were still coaching at Florida last week when Georgia’s players came off the bench for a pre-planned mass celebration.

Spurrier said Urban Meyer should have sent “out one of his third-team guys and get in a wrestling match with the guys, get a fight started.”

Spurrier’s reasoning? With all of Georgia’s players off the bench already, it could mean that they would all get suspended, according to SEC rules against fighting.

“Leave the bench in a fight and you’re out the next game,” Spurrier said. “I think that’s what we’d do if the other team ever does that.”

Georgia Coach Mark Richt, who acknowledged that he encouraged his team to incur an excessive celebration penalty, apologized to the SEC and the Gators this week.

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Something has to give

When Notre Dame (1-7) and Navy (4-4) renew their rivalry today, it’ll be a matchup of the nation’s worst offense and one of the worst defenses.

Notre Dame is last in the nation in total offense at 188 yards a game. Navy is No. 104 out of 119 in total defense, giving up 460 yards a game.

“Somebody’s going to get right this week,” Navy Coach Paul Johnson said. “One side or the other is going to get better.”

The Midshipmen can only hope it’s them. They have lost 43 consecutive games against the Fighting Irish.

Another statistical tidbit: Navy, which runs an option-based offense, averages 342.9 yards rushing a game. Notre Dame has 273 rushing yards all season.

That’s right, Navy averages more yards rushing than Notre Dame has.

-- Compiled by Peter Yoon