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Now a title contender, Alabama hosts Kentucky

Oct 4, 2008 - 10:07 AM Kentucky (4-0) at (4) Alabama (5-0), 3:30 pm EDT

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (Ticker) -- Suddenly, Alabama has climbed into the national championship picture.

The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide look to keep rolling Saturday when they host Kentucky in what has been one of the most lopsided series in the history of the Southeastern Conference.

The Crimson Tide lead the series, 33-2-1, including an 8-0 mark in Tuscaloosa and a 19-0-1 record in the state of Alabama. Kentucky's last win was a 40-34 overtime victory in Lexington in 1997.

Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC West) has been playing as well as anyone in the country and is only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a pair of wins over top-10 opponents this season.

The Crimson Tide opened the year with a dominating 34-10 victory over then-No. 9 Clemson and posted a 41-30 win at previously-third ranked Georgia last week that was not as close as the score indicated.

One of the keys to the Crimson Tide's success has been fast starts. They have outscored their foes 74-0 in their first quarter and have yet to trail at any point this season.

Alabama also has kept its defense off the field, converting 49.2 percent of its third downs, a mark that leads the SEC and ranks 14th nationally.

"I think we've shown what we can do," said Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson, who broke Brodie Croyle's school record for career passing yards last week. "I think keeping it consistent is going to be the task for us. We've shown we can run it, and we've shown we can throw it. If we can do that week in and week out, we'll be where we need to be."

The Crimson Tide will try to stay on an even keel, knowing they dropped their final four regular-season games last year after a 6-2 start.

Still, this teams appears much stronger, and Alabama has been physically dominating teams. Even hard-to-please Alabama coach Nick Saban recognizes how well the Crimson Tide have been playing.

"We have a mindset to do it, to sort of play with a mental and physical toughness that the other team can't match," Saban said.

Kentucky (4-0, 0-0 SEC East) heads to Alabama undefeated, but has yet to be tested as three of its wins have come against Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. The Wildcats did defeat Louisville, 27-2, in their season opener.