Saban's Tide can't upend No. 3 LSU

They strolled toward each other in the center of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the former coach at LSU and the guy who replaced him. After a quick handshake and a few obligatory words, Nick Saban and Les Miles headed off in opposite directions.

Maybe now, the folks at LSU can get over Saban and be content with what they have: a living-on-the-edge team and a cardiac coach who keeps finding ways to win.

The third-ranked Tigers did it again Saturday night, scoring 2 touchdowns in the final three minutes to stay in the thick of the national championship race with a heart-stopping 41-34 win over No. 17 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

"When our backs are against the wall, we play our best," said Glenn Dorsey, LSU's defensive star. "When we need to make plays, we make them."

This one will surely play well in Cajun Country, where they got to relish the sight of Saban, dressed in a white shirt with crimson trim, going over to congratulate the gold-and-purple-clad players he left behind two years ago.

Saban coached a couple of seasons in the NFL, then stunned the LSU faithful by returning to the college game -- at Alabama, of all places, a rival school in the Southeastern Conference.

This was payback, no matter how much Saban tried to protest.

"It ain't got nothing to do with me," he said in a fiery post-game news conference that bordered at times on a lecture. "I don't coach LSU anymore. I coach Alabama. I'm going to do a good job coaching Alabama. We're going to recruit good players. We're going to have a good team. We're going to have a good program.

"So, it's got nothing to do with me. Nothing."

Kansas 76, Nebraska 39: Dominating the once-mighty Huskers like never before, Todd Reesing (30-for-41, 354 yards) threw a school-record 6 touchdown passes, and No. 8 Kansas battered visiting Nebraska to remain in the national championship picture.

Kansas (9-0, 5-0 Big 12) scored touchdowns on 10 straight possessions and rolled up the most points ever scored against Nebraska in the Husker' 117-year football history.

Missouri 55, Colorado 10: Tight end Chase Coffman caught 3 of Chase Daniel's 5 touchdown passes as No. 9 Missouri (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) routed host Colorado. The 55 points were the most Colorado had allowed at home since a 59-20 loss to Missouri on Oct. 8, 1983.

Georgia 44, Troy 34: Knowshon Moreno ran for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns and became the first Georgia freshman since Herschel Walker to top 1,000 yards rushing as the 10th-ranked Bulldogs (7-2) beat visiting Troy (6-3).