The last thing LSU needed going into the Saban Bowl was another distraction from Ryan Perrilloux.
But the Tigers players are saying Perrilloux's absence isn't affecting their preparations for Saturday's game against Alabama in Bryant-Denny-Saban Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Senior Matt Flynn says he is 90 per recorded from a high ankle sprain and remains the team leader as starting quarterback. If coach Les Miles decides not to play Perrilloux, Harvard transfer Andre Hatch will be the backup. Jason Lee, wearing a redshirt this season, is working as Hatch's backup in practices this week. Miles said he wouldn't hesitate to insert Lee if he's needed.
"We're playing for a championship," said Miles on the possibility of using Lee. The coach doesn't appear to be concerned about Perrilloux's absence.
Miles and his players are downplaying the hype of the game being billed as the Saban Bowl. Both teams sit atop the SEC West at 4-1. The victor essentially gains control of its own championship destiny, while the loser faces an uphill battle. The Tigers are favored by 7 1/2 points.
Regardless, Tigers players are defending Miles and dismissing the hype centered around their former coach. "This game is more than Nick Saban, it's about the SEC West," said Tigers defensive end Kirston Pittman. "A lot of people are talking about Coach Saban and Coach Miles, but we don't get into that kind of stuff around here."
LSU was allotted only 7,000 tickets for the game and the Tigers ticket office turned down more requests for tickets to this game than any contest is LSU history. Thousands of Tigers fans will be outside the stadium on Saturday looking for tickets and tailgating.
Flynn said he hasn't spoken to Saban since he left the Tigers for the Miami Dolphins. "I don't think anybody wanted to see him go, but we were going to get a good coach, and we did," said the quarterback.
Miles is 29-5 with the Tigers, the best record in the SEC since 2005, but with 17 of his starters being Saban's recruits, talk has swirled that he is winning mostly because of Saban's players.
"If there's any thanks deserved, it's that Coach Saban brought them to a great place where they can get a great education and play championship football," said Miles. "It's not 'his players, our players.' It's LSU."
Several key Tigers agreed. "Coach Miles is calling the plays," said Pittman. "Even though we may be the products of Coach Saban, Coach Saban isn't calling the plays."
LSU safety Craig Steltz said Miles is the coach the players are behind. "He wears the LSU hat and we're behind him 100 per cent," said Steltz, a mid-season All-American pick.
Several Tigers recalled their playing days under Saban. "We were just the young pups he yelled at while he was here," recalled running back Jacob Hester.
"Coach Miles inspires you before and during the games, but Coach Saban was always fired up," remembered Pittman. "I can't recall a day at practice, before a game or even a meeting where he wasn't fired up."
If the Tigers lose, does that prove Sabin's the better coach?
"This is just one game," said Flynn. "I think Coach Miles has pr oven that he's a great coach and a winning coach. He's won a bunch of big games and a bunch of big calls. For people to say that for this one game is totally unfair."
"The buzz around here is it's Coach Saban against his old team," said Crimson Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson, "but it's just another week for us. This isn't the game of the year for us by any means." Alabama's biggest game is against Auburn.
No one had to tell Saban what the pregame buildup would be. He counseled his players on how to handle LSU-related questions from the media.
"Tigers fans in Baton Rouge want a piece of Saban pretty bad," said Baton Rouge radio sports talk show host Jimmy Ott. There’s probably not another job in the world he could have taken that would have left such an ugly taste in people's mouths.
"Les Miles' popularity shot through the roof when Saban took the Alabama job. Miles' approval rating was probably around 30-70 around here, but it went up to 70-30 when Saban went to Tuscaloosa."
Saban broke LSU hearts when he left the Tigers for a $5 million job with the Miami Dolphins, but the intense dislike of him began when he went to Alabama.
"It all started last January 3 with the Sugar Bowl," recalls LSU senior associate athletic director. "That was the day Saban was going to Alabama and he day we beat Notre Dame. That's when all this started."
It started when Saban reminded the media that many of LSU's key players in the Notre Dame win were his recruits.
"That claim after the Sugar Bowl was pretty tacky and a lot of people have a problem with that, including me," said the radio sports talk show host.
LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said LSU backers were disappointed when Saban left.
"As a coach, I could see that he wanted to try the professional ranks,: said Bertman, former Tigers baseball coach. :Like I'd want to be the manger of the Yankees when I was coaching. Then it didn't work out. He and Terry (Saban's wife) had a great opportunity and (Alabama AD) Mal Moore did a great job signing him. He went to the pros first. It wasn't that we went directly to Alabama."
"They loved him when he was here," said Vincent. "I think he's still greatly appreciated for what he did here."
Saban doesn't see himself as mean, brusque or distant with the media and fans. "I think most people who get to know me don't have that feeling."
His wife told him there might might be a slight gap between how he sees himself and how others see him. That, she told him, "is you blind spot. And it;s as wide as the Grand Canyon."
Saban said she wasn't even made when she told him that.
Four bronze giants watch over the promenade in front of the Alabama stadium. There stand Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings. But there is space left for a fifth pedestal. Alabama fans expect Saban to take that place after he wins another national championship.
SAINTS EYE .500: After losing their first four games, the Saints have won their last three games and are 2 /2-point favorites over Jacksonville this Sunday which would bring their record up to .500.
The Jaguars, coached by Jack Del Rio, former Saints linebacker and assistant coach, are 5-2 this year and are 13-5 against NFC teams under the coach.
The Jaguars showed they could win last week with backup quarterback Quinn Gray, who only threw seven passes against TampaBay in a 24-23 win. All three Jacksonville touchdowns were scored by backups LeBrandon Toefield, former LSU standout, Aaron Jones and former Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones.
Against TampaBay, the Jaguars showed they didn't have didn't have much faith Gray's arm as they opened the game with 14 consecutive runs before they finally let him throw.
Former Saints safety Sammy Knight has a team-high 48 tackles for the Jaguars as well as two interceptions.
Defensive tackle Bryant young of the Saints has recovered from a broken foot, missed training camp and has a team-high three sacks and has recorded a sack in the last three games.
The Jaguars signed free agent defensive tackle Grady Jackson to a one-year contract on Tuesday. The former Saint and an 11-year veteran, Jackson was released by the Falcons after signing with them in 2006. He joins Marcus Stroud and John Henderson in the Jaguars' defensive line, one of the best in the NFL.
:The Jaguars have a premier run stopper who you can't knock off," said his agent Angelo Wright. "You can't run on the guy."
Jackson, who's listed at 6-foot-2, 362 pounds, has 440 tackles and 33 1/2 sacks in 146 career f\games with the Raiders, Saints, Packers and Falcons.
The last thing LSU needed going into the Saban Bowl was another distraction from Ryan Perrilloux.
