by RANDY ROSETTA; Advocate sportswriter; , The Advocate

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 tie-breaker 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."

A dded 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 to No. 1 for a week.

A year ago, Saban guided Alabama to an undefeated regular season and West Division championship, but the Tide's season finished on a flat note with losses to Florida in the SEC Championship game and Utah in the Sugar Bowl.

The focus since then has been to get back to Atlanta and set the stage for a shot at the program's 13th national title.

LSU would like a crack at its third national crown this decade, but the Tigers' lofty spot among the national elite was rendered wobbly last season with a 7-5 regular season.

Now, LSU is back at the penthouse door trying to re-enter.

Not as a team that has the swagger to walk into any stadium anywhere and believe it can win. Instead the Tigers are a team with talent to match anyone but one badly in need of a signature victory to re-assert themselves.

"Being in the role we're in now, it's really kind of easier," Riley said. "When you're sitting at No. 1, you know you're going to get everybody's best shot. You might have a tendency to overlook some teams sometimes. But being the underdog like we are now, that brings the best out in you. It makes you want to do anything extra you have to do to win a game.

"It feels good to sneak in the back door instead of having everybody scratching at you."

That back door is open this week. Beating Alabama would lift LSU right back into the thick of this season's national championship picture and set the stage for a 2010 season when the Tigers would again be counted among the preseason favorites.

"This game right here, if we win it, could mean a lot to our season and the future," LSU linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said.

Saban has been on both sides of that battle, as well as both sides of this rivalry.

For the last two seasons, his spot as the Alabama coach dominated the weeks leading up to the game - his first against LSU in 2007 and his return to Baton Rouge last fall.

The Tigers and Tide split the two games, and each went on to win the West the season they beat the other.

Although there may still be some bad sentiment festering among some LSU fans, Saban's presence and a perceived rancorous relationship with his successor, Les Miles, has taken a back seat to an important football game between two talented teams.

The comparisons and contrasts supply all the necessary fodder.

Alabama and LSU rely on two of the best defenses in the SEC and the country.

The Tide ranks second in the league in scoring defense (11.4 points a game), while the Tigers are third (12.1). Alabama is second in total defense (240.6 yards per game), LSU is fourth (293). The Tide top the SEC in rush defense (64.6 yards per game) and the Tigers are fourth (114.4).

"There will be two very, very good defenses on that field," Miles said. "I suspect both offenses will move more slowly than they'd like."

The two offenses come into today headed in opposite directions.

The Tigers have produced their two best games of the season in victories over Auburn and Tulane, with 831 yards and 73 points combined.

Alabama has been stagnant the last three games with only 54 points and two offensive touchdowns. Tennessee's defense didn't let the Tide get into the end zone and limited Bama to a season-low 256 yards.

Still, the Tide features the SEC's top rusher, Mark Ingram with 125.5 yards a game on the ground and a passing game built around sophomore phenom Julio Jones, fresh off a season-high seven catches against the Volunteers.

Before the recent slump, Alabama averaged 40 points per game in the first five outings. The Tide still ranks fourth in the SEC, averaging 410 yards per game, and fourth in scoring with 31.8 points a contest.

And numbers aside, trends aside, stakes aside, the LSU players know at its core, one fact remains unchangeable and set in stone about today's showdown in Tuscaloosa.

"It's going to be a battle," Black said. "It's really hard for me to pay attention to the rankings because it's so early. All I know is, it's LSU-Alabama. That means they're going to give us their best game and we have to give them our best game.

"It all boils down to football . There's a lot surrounding this game, but it's still just a football game."

LSU at Alabama

WHEN: 2:30 p.m. today.

WHERE: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala. (92,133)

TV: CBS

RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1; XM 141; Sirius 121.

SERIES: Alabama leads, 44-23-5.

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