TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A No. 1 ranking. A grudge match. A title shot.To Alabama coach Nick Saban, those aren’t things to celebrate. They’re “external factors,” potential distractions that can waylay a team before it reaches its ultimate goals.Maybe that’s why much of the Crimson Tide’s public reaction Monday to the program’s first regular-season No. 1 ranking in 28 years — a span that covered eight coaches — ranged from indifference to chagrin.”Being ranked No. 1 is all right, I guess,” tailback Glen Coffee said, “but it brings more problems than anything.”So maybe it’s a positive for the Tide that most of the questions Saban fielded Monday were about his return to face No. 15 LSU on Saturday in his former stomping grounds. Talk of No. 1 was relegated to No. 2.Alabama (9-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) can clinch the Western Division title and secure a spot in the league championship game for the first time since 1999 with a win over Saban’s old team.The No. 1 ranking came after Texas Tech knocked off Texas on a closing seconds touchdown. The Longhorns had earlier jumped the Tide with a win over then-No. 1 Oklahoma.Safety Rashad Johnson, at least, is enthusiastic about Alabama holding the top spot in the regular season for the first time since a nine-week stretch during the 1980 season. The Tide finished the 1992 season with a national championship, but didn’t top the rankings until the final poll.”I definitely was rooting for Texas Tech,” Johnson said. “I think they’re a good team, just like Texas is a good team.”But you always want to be the No. 1 team in the nation. That’s something as a kid growing up you always go, I want to play for a program that’s No. 1. What better place to do it at than Alabama?”—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]