Replies to post #9960 on Collegiate Sports (NCAA)

[strongtower]

Phat Phil asked to resign from UT AP press
http://www.comcast.net/articles/sports-general/20081103/Tennessee-Fulmer/

[HoosierHoagie]

Miles implores players to ignore Saban hype
By BRETT MARTEL, AP Sports Writer
Nov 3, 8:16 pm EST

Buzz Up PrintBATON ROUGE, La. (AP)—The last time Nick Saban came to Tiger Stadium as a “visiting” coach, his reception was anything but hostile.

The ambiance inside Death Valley for a 2005 contest between the Katrina-displaced New Orleans Saints and Saban’s Miami Dolphins had an element of a family reunion to it.

Numerous fans wearing LSU purple and gold applauded when Saban emerged from the tunnel. The coach waved back affectionately.

It was as if the crowd wanted Saban to know the BCS championship he helped LSU win during the 2003 season would never be forgotten, and that he’d always be welcome in Baton Rouge.

This week, a new billboard near campus reads, “Welcome back Nick,” but somehow the message doesn’t seem so heartfelt. Maybe because it’s part of an advertisement for a “Burn Bama” bonfire at the Tiger Manor condominiums, scheduled for the eve of No. 15 LSU’s home date Saturday against Saban’s current team, the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.

ADVERTISEMENT

Apparently, leaving LSU for the NFL was understandable. Returning to the college ranks to coach one of LSU’s chief rivals in the Southeastern Conference’s West Division wasn’t.

LSU fans reveled in the Tigers’ win at Alabama last season, the first with Saban as the Tide’s coach. It was a high point of LSU’s national championship campaign under Saban’s successor, Les Miles.

With two losses already this season, LSU’s hopes of a repeat national title are very slim. Still, Tigers fans would get enormous satisfaction out of seeing their squad possibly derail Saban’s bid to place Alabama in this year’s title game.

The hype surrounding what some in south Louisiana are calling “Saban Bowl 2” seems a little unsettling for Miles, who urged his players to “deflect” questions about his predecessor’s return to Tiger Stadium and even offered a similar message to fans.

“I encourage them to root for us hard, not necessarily be too pointed at our opponent,” Miles said Monday as LSU began preparations for what likely is the biggest game left on its schedule. “Leave our opponent alone, just root hard for LSU.”

Miles has earned enormous goodwill in Louisiana after bowl victories and no fewer than 11 wins in each of his first three seasons, but he has to know some fans won’t follow that advice.

His players have heeded his call to downplay the hype or avoid it altogether, but it isn’t always easy.

“I’ve gotten a few phone calls already talking about coach Saban vs. coach Miles,” said LSU senior defensive end Kirston Pittman, who grew up in southeast Louisiana. “We expect those kinds of things to happen. We have some great fans and it’s something they really feed on and we feed off their energy.”

Because of two medical redshirts, this is Pittman’s sixth season at LSU. He was recruited by Saban and played on both Saban’s and Miles’ BCS championship teams. When asked to compare the two coaches, Pittman said both are great at their jobs and are great men as well.

Pittman said he bears no ill-will toward Saban, but marveled at how far reality diverged from the expectations he had back when Saban made a recruiting visit to his house.

“That’s bananas. When I was getting recruited by coach Saban I never thought he would leave. That’s something no one can control. Situations come up and people have to do what they have to do,” Pittman said. “It’s kind of crazy that he is on the other side of the ball … and coming in with the No. 1 team in the country.”

Pittman didn’t dwell on that for long, however, and promised that the Tigers had enough veteran leadership, enough maturity, to “tune out” the hype and focus on details they’ll need to know in order to execute their assignments against one of the best teams in the country.

“We know they’re going to bring their A-game and they’re a great ball club,” Pittman said. “Trust me, we’re taking everything into account right now.”

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-lsu-sabansreturn&prov=ap&type=lgns

[HoosierHoagie]

Be careful, Texas was saying all the right things too.


‘Bama, Saban downplay top ranking, other factors
By JOHN ZENOR, AP Sports Writer
Nov 3, 6:10 pm EST

Buzz Up PrintTUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP)—A No. 1 ranking. A grudge match. A title shot.

To Alabama coach Nick Saban, those aren’t things to celebrate. They’re “external factors,” potential distractions that can waylay a team before it reaches its ultimate goals.

Maybe that’s why much of the Crimson Tide’s public reaction Monday to the program’s first regular-season No. 1 ranking in 28 years—a span that covered eight coaches—ranged from indifference to chagrin.

“Being ranked No. 1 is all right, I guess,” tailback Glen Coffee sighed, “but it brings more problems than anything.”

So maybe it’s a positive for the Tide that most of the questions Saban fielded Monday were about his return to face No. 15 LSU on Saturday in his former stomping grounds. Talk of No. 1 was relegated to No. 2.

ADVERTISEMENT

Alabama (9-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) can clinch the Western Division title and secure a spot in the league championship game for the first time since 1999 with a win over Saban’s old team.

The No. 1 ranking came after Texas Tech knocked off Texas on a closing seconds touchdown. The Longhorns had earlier jumped the Tide with a win over then-No. 1 Oklahoma.

Safety Rashad Johnson, at least, is enthusiastic about Alabama holding the top spot in the regular season for the first time since a nine-week stretch during the 1980 season. The Tide finished the 1992 season with a national championship, but didn’t top the rankings until the final poll.

“I definitely was rooting for Texas Tech,” Johnson said. “I think they’re a good team, just like Texas is a good team.

“But you always want to be the No. 1 team in the nation. That’s something as a kid growing up you always go, I want to play for a program that’s No. 1. What better place to do it at than Alabama? And give these fans and this state something to cheer about, and something they deserve.”

Alabama spent the past five weeks at No. 2 before ascending to the hot seat, the fifth team to hold the top spot this season.

To players like Coffee, that just means more questions about the rankings. To Saban, it’s one of those dreaded “external factors” he brings up frequently to the media and players.

“I lost count last year,” cornerback Kareem Jackson said. “He kind of beats that in our heads. I think we get the point now.”

It seems so. Alabama has survived two close calls and cruised to a pair of easy wins since moving to No. 2 with an impressive road win over Georgia.

Now, the Tide has managed a 10-game win streak for the 21st time in program history, a major college record.

A team that has a bowl-subdivision-low nine seniors and has played 16 freshmen doesn’t seem to be letting all that success go to its head. Johnson said the youngsters have handled it well all season.

“We haven’t really had anybody say anything about ‘We’re ranked No. 2 now, this and that,”’ he said. “It’s hardly ever talked about in the locker room, because we know none of that means anything.

“At any point in time, you can go out on Saturday and get beat. I think that comes from coach Saban stressing that to us every time he gets the opportunity to talk to us as a team. I think everybody believes that, what he’s telling us.”

Maybe that’s why Saban’s reference to the new ranking was a variation of, That’s nice, so what?

“We appreciate the acknowledgement, but that doesn’t really define anything relative to what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.

Neither does his venture back to Tiger Stadium. He has repeatedly emphasized that the game is about the players and two good teams, not about his return to the campus where he coached for five seasons.

“We appreciated our time there,” Saban said. “It was very special. We have great memories and great friends.

“My heart is with this team. This team has worked hard. These guys deserve the best opportunity they can to be put in the best circumstance and situation to be successful, and that’s certainly what we’re going to try to focus on.” ^Note: Nose guard Terrence Cody returned to practice Monday. He had missed the past two games with a sprained right knee. Saban described his status as “day-to-day” for the LSU game.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-t25-tideontop&prov=ap&type=lgns