ALABAMA GAMEDAY NOTEBOOK: LSU-Alabama series: No place like the road

LSU and Alabama enjoy two of the strongest home-field advantages in college football — until it comes to playing each other.

The home team in this series is 11-27-1 since the 1970 season — and is just 5-13 in the last 18 games.

The Crimson Tide will be looking for their first victory over the Tigers in Tuscaloosa since 1999.

Alabama’s 27-21, overtime victory in Baton Rouge last season snapped a five-game losing streak to LSU.

“Last year was a lot of fun playing down there. Their fans made it harder for us and we ended up coming out with a victory,” linebacker Cory Reamer said. “Our fans are going to do the same for them this year. It’s always going to be like that.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban said the winning team has been able to focus on playing its football and not been distracted by “external” factors like where the game is played.

“I know it’s a result world, but great competitors don’t focus on the results,” Saban said this week. “They focus on what they need to do to get the results. Sometimes that’s difficult to do with a lot of the external things that we live with, but that’s the most important thing to playing your best.”

Alabama leads the overall series, 44-23-5.

LSU is 3-0 on the road this season with wins at Washington, Mississippi State and Georgia. That’s the longest road winning streak by an LSU team since the 2005 Tigers won all five of their road games.

LSU turnover margin
Saban readily admits he isn’t a big stat guy, but one category he pays attention to is turnover margin.

That’s where LSU leads the SEC and is No. 8 in the country with a plus-nine total. The Tigers have recovered five fumbles and intercepted 11 passes. They have coughed up three fumbles and thrown four interceptions.

Alabama ranks third in the SEC with a plus-seven turnover margin. The Tide has claimed five fumbles and recorded 11 picks; and lost six fumbles and thrown three interceptions.

Moving on
Saban certainly has been a subject of attention surrounding this game. He coached LSU from 2000-04 and won the 2003 national championship.

His successor in Baton Rouge, Les Miles, won the national title in 2007 and last week passed Saban on the LSU coaching wins list with his 49th victory.

“The game is about the players,” Saban said this week. “These are two very good teams that have good players on both sides and there is a lot to talk about in terms of what’s going to happen on the field.

“Les Miles has done a fantastic job in the five years he has been at LSU. They always play with toughness. They play with great effort. They are well-coached on both sides of the ball as well as special teams.”

Miles said the fans may have played up the Saban story angle, but he’s always viewed the matchup as LSU vs. Alabama.

“I have a lot going on in my life. I enjoy what I do, who I work with and who I’m fortunate to represent,” Miles said. “I have four kids who are running rampant around Baton Rouge. Even though there may well have been questions centered around that issue, it was never my view.”

Miles will try to sweep Auburn and Alabama in the same season for the third time. No other LSU coach has swept Auburn and Alabama more than twice.

Staff ties
In addition to Saban, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart coached defensive backs at LSU in 2004. Tide defensive line coach Bo Davis was an all-SEC defensive lineman for LSU in the early 1990s and was LSU’s assistant strength coach from 2002-05. Alabama linebackers coach Sal Sunseri did the same for LSU in 2000. Tide tight ends coach Bobby Williams coached wide receivers at LSU in 2004. And Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran is an LSU graduate who served on the strength staff in Baton Rouge from 2001-2004.