Alabama may be 6-4 (2-4 SEC) after its most demoralizing loss in the Mike Shula era, but LSU coach Les Miles is trying to convince his team that the Crimson Tide is better than the Tigers might be tempted to think.

"I want to make sure we're not talking about Alabama (as a lesser opponent)," Miles said. "Alabama had Arkansas beat on the road. They played Tennessee to a three-point loss. They really handled the nation's scoring leader in Hawaii. I certainly respect the fact this is Alabama, it's just been bruised."

How about bruised, battered and beaten down following a 24-16 home loss to Mississippi State?

"We're going to look real hard on why we didn't go out and play better and coach better," Shula said. "As far as that goes, no, it doesn't change. We sat and talked to our team a lot longer (after the game) and we talked about how important it's going to be.

"It's going to be a tough week. It's tough when you lose. You've got to suck it up and continue to do the things you're doing and get (mistakes) changed and get it done on the playing field. We're working hard. I've asked our team to keep working the way they've been working."

That includes working harder and better to improve the SEC's most frustrating red zone offense. The Crimson Tide leads the SEC with 43 trips inside opponent's 20-yard lines, but the offense has scored only 15 touchdowns on those opportunities.

"I hope we hadn't crossed the line where guys worry about it," offensive coordinator Dave Rader said. "Instead of saying, 'Yeah, let's score,' (I hope they aren't saying), 'Oh, here we are again, what are we going to do now?'"

The Tide has tried a number of methods to get the ball in the end zone with no consistent success.

"We've thrown it, we've run it, we've play-action passed it, we've run nakeds and boots, we've run draws, we've run screens, we've run fades, we've run slants, we've done a variety of things," Rader said. "That's not to say we're grasping at straws. That's just what our offense allows us to do. I feel secure that nobody has sunk their teeth into what we're going to do."

The job isn't going to get any easier against an LSU defense that leads the nation in total defense and ranks third in scoring.

"Whether it's in our run or play action or drop-back or misdirection, we can change some things," Shula said. "We'll look at them. Some things we do may look better against the defense you face this week than against the defense you faced last week."

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Alabama suffered from the same old problem against Mississippi State, failing to score a touchdown on four trips inside the red zone. Alabama is now eighth in the SEC in scoring, with 23.8 points per game, because it has scored only 15 touchdowns on 43 red-zone opportunities. The lack of a productive running game the past two weeks has hurt QB John Parker Wilson's ability to make plays. Alabama has fewer turnovers (11) than any SEC team, but Mississippi State returned a Wilson pass 51 yards for a touchdown and a 24-10 lead last week.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The Alabama defense provided seven points last week on safety Jeffrey Dukes' 24-yard interception return for a touchdown and allowed only 71 second-half yards, but the Tide still allowed 131 rushing yards and too many big plays in the passing game. Still, the defense is allowing only 16.6 points per game, leads the SEC with 24 takeaways and continues to give Alabama a chance.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "You've got to take the bad with the good. You've got to not let certain things bother you. You know when you lose, not a lot of good things are said about you or your football team. That stuff is going to be out there and you can't control it. All you can control is getting your team ready." -- Alabama coach Mike Shula on the criticism surrounding the program.

THIS WEEK'S GAME: Alabama at LSU, Nov. 11 –- If Alabama can't score touchdowns at home against Mississippi State, what's it going to do on the road at LSU against one of the nation's top defenses? The defense will carry a heavy burden in this game and must find a way to force some turnovers and make some big plays to give the offense a chance. If not, this game could get one-sided.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB John Parker Wilson -– Wilson opened his first season as a starter with seven consecutive 200-yard games. With 187 yards against Mississippi State, he has now passed for fewer than 200 yards in three consecutive games.

TB Ken Darby –- Darby is Alabama's third-leading career rusher, but he continues to struggle as a senior, with 54 yards on 13 carries against Mississippi State and a 73.6-yard average per game.

WR D.J. Hall –- With 10 receptions for 125 yards against Mississippi State, Hall continues to rise among the SEC's best receivers. He enters the week ranked second in the SEC with 95.2 receiving yards per game and third with 5.33 receptions per game.

LB Juwan Simpson -– After recording five solo tackles, two tackles for losses and two assists to go with two quarterback hurries last week, Simpson leads Alabama with 63 tackles.

ROSTER REPORT: WR D.J. Hall said he has no intention of leaving Alabama after his junior season for a shot at the NFL Draft. "I'm not coming out," Hall said. "I've got a lot left to accomplish here. I want to play next year and I want to graduate because football is not going to be there forever."

Starting safety Rashad Johnson left the Mississippi State game with an ankle injury and is likely to be limited during practice this week. His status for Saturday's game is questionable.

WR Keith Brown (knee) and TB Jimmy Johns (ankle) both played limited roles last week, but the coaches are hoping they'll get more out of both players this week.

RT Chris Capps struggled against Mississippi State but will start against LSU.