College Football Corner: SEC Showdown

By far this week's biggest game poses a coaching question, probably unanswerable. What's better for a fan? To have the free-wheeling, outspoken, risk-taker wearing the top man's headset? Or the canned, prickly, one-game-at-time robot?

LSU's Les Miles, of course, gambler of gamblers, represents the former head-coaching type. Alabama's Nick Saban -- disciple of Bill Belichick -- the latter.

Coach Les Miles and his LSU Tigers

Saturday afternoon's game, which brings two of the nation's best defenses into the same stadium, will not likely bring any fresh clarity to such imponderables.

Instead, the matchup's outcome will resolve certain highly practical questions: For instance, which of these two elite programs will play against already-crowned SEC East champion Florida for all the conference's marbles in late November -- and possibly gain entrance into the Citigroup(C Quote)-sponsored BCS title game in early January?

Alabama Coach Nick Saban

No. 9 LSU (7-1) at No. 2 Alabama (8-0), 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS: One word for this one: defense. Further words for this one: Which offense will find any success at all in moving the chains against an opposing unit ranked fifth in terms of points allowed (Alabama) and seventh by the same measure (LSU).

Looking at the raw stats, Alabama has the edge on offense, led by tailback Mark Ingram. The Heisman contender paces a Crimson Tide ground game that has racked up nearly 218 yards per outing, good for 14th nationally. Both squads suffer from rather muted passing attacks, though this might be an SEC-wide condition, given the overall strength in the conference at the pass-disrupting positions of defensive back and defensive lineman.