[Bamabeachlivin]

TUSCALOOSA -- As the weeks have come and gone, the Alabama football team has won and won. Now the bye week has gone by. Will the rest be history for the Crimson Tide?
A rested team will play host to No. 9 LSU at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Bryant-Denny Staφdium. The true showdown will be shown nationally by CBS.
The Southeastern Conference Western Division championship probably will be at stake. A shot at No. 1 Florida in the SEC championship game should be on the line. That would keep Alabama on track for a possible berth in the national championship game.
If the Tide survives, it will be fresher at the end of the season than it would have been if its bye week had been any earlier.
Alabama is ranked No. 22 on the list of toughest schedules in the nation. A schedule any tougher might have invited unnecessary risks. Of the teams with the five toughest schedules -- Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Washington and Georgia -- only Oklahoma is ranked, and with three losses, the Sooners are far out of national championship contention.
It pays to play softer nonconference comφpetition. Top-ranked Florida's schedule is ranked No. 42. Second-ranked Texas's schedule is No. 35. LSU's schedule is ranked No. 45.
So don't give Alabama grief for scheduling Florida International and North Texas early. And scheduling Tennessee-Chattanooga the week before the Iron Bowl is better than a bye week. The Tide can keep its edge without having to wear its starters out.
A meaningful season-opening game against Virginia Tech gave Alabama a little more motivation during offseason conditioning and preseason workouts to be ready for prime time right away.
No SEC games are easy, but the Tide's early conference games weren't against the heavyweights. Arkansas and Kentucky prepared Alabama for a key road game at Ole Miss. South Carolina and Tennessee have prepared the Tide for a stretch run.
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