TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Florida's Jeremy Mincey isn't bold enough to guarantee a blowout over No. 15 Alabama.

"It could be a blowout or just a regular victory," the Gators defensive end said.

Not surprisingly, Crimson Tide linebacker DeMeco Ryans has a different outlook on tomorrow's game against No. 5 Florida at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"We always win big games here," Ryans said.

Well, not always. In fact, not in a while.

This is the most high-profile game for Alabama since beating Florida in the league title game in 1999. The teams haven't met since.

The Tide has gone 1-7 against ranked teams the past two seasons under coach Mike Shula and has never beaten a top-five team at Bryant-Denny in five tries.

Most such games for decades were played at Birmingham's Legion Field, though, with Bryant-Denny becoming the Tide's exclusive home field only in recent years.

Optimism is obviously back at both schools after relatively lean stretches, both having started 4-0 and won their first two Southeastern Conference games. Florida is seeking its first 5-0 start since 2001 under first-year coach Urban Meyer.

The Tide is off to its best start in nine years. The teams have met only once before when both were unbeaten, in 1964.

"We call them money games," Tide safety Charlie Peprah said. "This is our chance to show what we can do, and this is our chance to take it up a notch. We've got the players to do it. We've just got to go out there and prove it."

Florida's players have a little more proof in hand, having beaten No. 10 Tennessee 16-7 two weeks ago. Alabama hasn't played a ranked team and had to play its way into the Top 25 without much preseason hype. The Tide struggled last week against an Arkansas team that USC beat by 53 points a week earlier.

Mincey isn't all that impressed.

"I would say Tennessee has more talent than Alabama, both sides of the ball," he said.

What about that potential blowout?

"The way our defense has played the last four weeks," he said, "anything is possible."

Tennessee's dramatic come-from-behind win over No. 4 LSU on Monday night left Alabama as the SEC Western Division's only unbeaten team overall, though Auburn has won its only league game.

Last night's game

At Colorado State 41,

Air Force 23

Kyle Bell was one of many stars for the Rams' offense, rushing for a career-high 197 yards and three touchdowns.

Bell, a sophomore who earned the starting job when Nnamdi Ohaeri was lost in the season opener, added this performance to a 183-yard game last week. He became the first Colorado State player to record back-to-back 100-yard games since 2002.

He was a standout on a night full of big performances for the Rams (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West), who won their second straight and handed the Falcons (2-3, 1-2) their third straight loss.

David Anderson stayed on pace to become the most productive receiver in school history, catching seven passes for 105 yards and two scores.

Little-used receiver Luke Roberts had five catches for 123 yards and an acrobatic touchdown, caught over the arms of an outstretched defender for a 13-9 lead late in the second quarter.

Quarterbacl Justin Holland went 17 of 26 for 318 yards and three TDs. The Rams finished with 551 yards in offense.

Notes

• Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis is floating an idea to move the annual Civil War game to a Friday night after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Starting next year, the Pac-10 moves to a 12-game schedule. As it stands, the Civil War is usually played the third Saturday every November.

• Florida defensive back Nick Brooks had surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee and will miss at least four weeks.

• Southern Utah's game at McNeese State in Lake Charles, La., tomorrow has been canceled because of Hurricane Rita.