ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

	Andy Lyons/Getty Images
	Alabama coach Nick Saban preaches about focusing on the task at hand, and Alabama players are buying into it.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Alabama coach Nick Saban says it with pride, and his players nod their heads confidently when they hear it.

"We're a blue-collar team," Saban said. "We've got to play good defense. We've got to be able to run it. We've got to be able to throw it. We've got to have balance."

The Crimson Tide had all the above and more Saturday night in making the kind of statement all championship-caliber teams make this time of year in a 29-9 bludgeoning of Tennessee.

They're in this thing for the long haul.

With LSU losing Saturday, Alabama (8-0, 5-0) now has a two-game lead in the Western Division race. The Tide could lose their game at LSU on Nov. 8 and still get to the SEC Championship Game by winning their remaining two games against Mississippi State and Auburn.

But all anybody wanted to talk about outside the Alabama locker room on Saturday night was the here and now. Sophomore middle linebacker Rolando McClain huffed when somebody brought up the fact that LSU had lost earlier in the day.

"We don't really care about LSU," McClain said. "We'll get to them whenever we play them. Right now, we'll enjoy this for 24 hours and get ready for next week."

If he sounds like Saban, you're right. This whole team is starting to sound like Saban, which means it's highly unlikely that anybody is going to catch Alabama napping.

There's not an ego to speak of with this team. There's not a sense that they have somehow arrived. Rather, there's almost an uneasiness, a feeling that there's still another level out there if this team is going to get to where it wants to be in January.

"You can always get better," Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith said. "We practiced better last week, and that's why we played better in the second half. When you play for Coach Saban, there's no such thing as looking into the future. The future is your next practice or your next game."

That said, let's take a peek into the future.

Alabama gets Arkansas State at home next week before traveling to face LSU in Baton Rouge. Then come home games against Mississippi State and Auburn to close the regular season.

It would be a real upset at this point if Alabama didn't make it to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship Game. But with Penn State winning Saturday over Ohio State, it's looking more and more like an unbeaten Alabama team is the SEC's best chance to send a team to the BCS National Championship Game for the third straight year.

Of course, that would entail the Crimson Tide also beating Florida or Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6.

Asked if the Tide were starting to smell and taste what all's out there for them, McClain slowly shook his head.

"Nah, not with Coach Saban. He's not going to let you," McClain said.

Cornerback Javier Arenas went one step further. "That's all external things," he said. "We don't worry about external things at Alabama. We worry about us."

Yep, a blue-collar team, all right. But a good one, too, not to mention a focused one.