The first hurdle on the remaining road to the West Coast is far closer, however, sitting about 75 minutes down U.S. Highway 82 in Starkville, Miss.

And those Mississippi State Bulldogs intend to be ready.

"It's going to be electric," MSU athletics director Greg Byrne said.

Byrne expects the largest crowd in the history of Davis Wade Stadium when third-ranked Alabama (9-0, 6-0 SEC) visits Mississippi State (4-5, 2-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday in a game to be televised nationally by ESPN. For this game only, the Bulldogs have brought in temporary seating and sold standing room-only tickets to match the demand.

As a result, the attendance should surpass the 57,178 that attended the Oct. 24 game against top-ranked Florida.

"I think our fans are going to be into it from the beginning," Byrne said. "That will create great energy. It's hard not to have that come through the television set.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Mississippi State to put out a good product to get our future recruits and future students excited."

Alabama's 24-15 victory Saturday over LSU pushed the Crimson Tide back to No. 2 in the BCS standings, though it remained third in The Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls.

It also clinched a second consecutive SEC Western Division title for a team that knows it will face East champ Florida on Dec. 5 in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.

But before that, the Crimson Tide encounters a three-game stretch against Mississippi State, UT-Chattanooga and Auburn. The final two SEC games are on the road.

While Alabama figures to be a heavy favorite in all three games, a slip would be disastrous while within range of the school's first appearance in a BCS title game.

"We need to focus and get ready to play our best football and continue to improve," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. "And that never ends.

"We have an opponent next week, and they're a good opponent. We certainly respect them, and we're going to have to do a good job."

Mississippi State dropped three of its first four conference games but entered its bye week boosted by a 31-24 victory at Kentucky on Oct. 31.

Immediate goals may not be as lofty as what the Crimson Tide is chasing, but the Bulldogs need two victories in their final three games to return to a bowl.

"Things for us haven't changed," first-year coach Dan Mullen said. "We have three games left, and every one of them is critical. Our approach going in this one is to find a way to win this game to put us one step closer to our goal of getting bowl-eligible."

After last season, Byrne snatched Mullen away from Urban Meyer's staff at Florida, landing the Gators' offensive coordinator for two national title teams.

It was another step in a rapid football renewal plan that included cosmetic improvements such as the addition of new banners at Davis Wade Stadium and a new high-definition videoboard with a screen 111-feet wide by 47-feet high.

The board appeared late last season and is "as good as anywhere in the country," Byrne said.

"People want to be entertained," Byrne said. "Obviously, first and foremost, we're in the education business. But we're also in the entertainment business.

"Our coaching staff has done a really good job of putting an exciting product out there on the field that our fans go into every game feeling like -- and our team as well -- that we can win this game, and we're going to go out and battle hard."

Mullen watched Alabama's game against LSU and described the Crimson Tide as "loaded with NFL talent from top to bottom."

But he also knows he'll have plenty of help while tangling with Saban and company.

"We're expecting a great crowd," Mullen said, "for the whole state to get behind us and support us and have a great atmosphere for a nationally televised game."