Alabama routs Auburn, and safely at No. 2

AUBURN, Ala. -- Trent Richardson rushed for a career-high 203 yards and AJ McCarron threw three first-half touchdown passes to lift No. 2 Alabama to a 42-14 victory over rival No. 24 Auburn yesterday.

Let the lobbying begin. Coach Nick Saban said he thinks his Crimson Tide is one of the nation's best two teams, Richardson is the top player and 'Bama deserves a second shot at LSU in the BCS title game.

"This team lost one game in overtime [9-6] to a very, very good team who's No. 1 right now," the Tide coach said. "And we lost in overtime. Everybody's got to make their choices and decisions about that."

The Tide (11-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) has a week before finding out if its resume is good enough to secure a shot at a second national title in three years. No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 1 LSU have big games remaining against No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 13 Georgia, respectively.

"That's out of our hands but I think we've proven we should be there without a doubt," said Alabama tight end Brad Smelley, who had six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Richardson ran 27 times and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in his final chance to impress Heisman voters. He had runs of 35 and 57 yards to set up second-half scores.

The Tide dominated statistically but didn't put Auburn (7-5, 4-4) away until Dee Milliner's 35-yard interception return early in the fourth quarter. Alabama entered the quarter with a 309-44 advantage in total yards but also gave up touchdowns on a fumble recovery and a kick return.

McCarron completed 18 of 23 passes for 184 yards but attempted only five second-half passes. Richardson handled the rest. He gained 142 yards on 13 carries in the second half against a defense ranked 98th nationally against the run.

Auburn tailback Mike Dyer, the SEC's No. 2 rusher, had three carries at the half and finished with 13 for 48 yards.

-- AP