A few of you may remember how significant the number 13 was the last time we won a national championship:  it had been 13 years since our last title (1979), we allowed Miami only 13 points, George Teague wore #13, we were the first ever 13-0 team, etc.  Something else you may have noticed Saturday is the significance this year of the number 22 in securing our only SEC title of the decade.

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I must have missed the memo about the reason(s) that there would be no Random 10 this week, or that it would be late, or that it's moving to Saturdays, or whatever.  Or maybe it's already up and I'm just blind or stupid.  All of these are possibilities, yet I still can't find it.  So, since I am both a creature of habit and a music lover, I present to you my own Random 10, which you may notice has a couple of touches of local flavor in Kate Taylor (twice) and the Storm Orphans (as this is truly a random selection, I can only presume this means good things for the Tide in Atlanta).  Anyhow, may the Gators die a slow and painful death tomorrow (metaphorically speaking, of course...we'll still need their input for next week's Meltdown).  On with the 10:

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Clearly, Coach Saban's 24-hour rule doesn't apply to the fans here at RBR, but as I've grown weary of the whinings of the pale orange last-week's losers from up the road, I thought I would share a few of the reasons the Alabama-LSU rivalry has long been an important one to me.

First of all, as many of us could have guessed before the season began, our upcoming game has become the biggest of the year.  We may or may not have expected to be 8-0 at this point, what with replacing last year's starting QB, RB, TEs, and three members of our offensive line (two of them highly touted), not to mention the 'quarterback' of the defense, safety Rashad Johnson.  However, despite our recent struggles offensively, Greg McElroy has filled in nicely for John Parker Wilson, the offensive line has exceeded the expectations of most, and Mark Ingram is suddenly being touted as the best player in America.  Furthermore, it seems that the combination of Robby Green and bright new star Mark Barron has filled the shoes of Johnson quite nicely.  Ugly or not, our beloved Tide has won every game thus far, standing at the break with a perfect 8-0 record.

We also may not have expected LSU to have only one loss this far into the season, seeing as how they lost five games last year...and the Bengal Tigers' start to the season did little to strike fear in our hearts, what with their season-opening nail-biter vs. a previously unbeaten UW (though that game doesn't look quite so ugly since Washington's upset of USC), not to mention their lucky escape in Starkville.  LSU has had offensive struggles of their own, most surprisingly in the running game.  It's difficult to imagine that their running issues will be solved against what appears to be the best run-stopping defense in the land; nevertheless, LSU enters this game with only one loss, and controls their own destiny as of today.

You may have noticed that I haven't even mentioned the emotions surrounding LSU's severed relationship with our own exalted CNS, or the thrilling finishes to the prior two meetings in Baton Rouge and Tuscaloosa, nor the pungent smell of corn dogs that you may encounter on your walk to BDS next weekend.  It goes without saying, despite the recent focus on Rocky Block and whiny puke-orange coaches, our next game is the biggest of the regular season.


Most of my own memories of this game are positive.  Before this decade, the series record in this game from 1970-1999 stood at 22-7-1 in favor of the Tide.  Unfortunately, a variety of factors -- most prominently probation at Alabama and the arrival of Coach Nick Saban in Baton Rouge -- have swung the series dramatically during the aughts, with LSU winning seven of nine, including a five-game streak that ended last year in Bama's 27-21 OT victory at Tiger Stadium.  Here are some of my own recollections from the past 30+ years:

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