It has been a long road back -- since September 2003 to be exact -- but Alabama's football program is back in the top 20.

Once the bellcow of the SEC before a couple of NCAA probations and a string of coaching changes, 'Bama has had trouble getting back on its feet.

But a solid performance in a 37-14 Southeastern Conference road victory at South Carolina shot the Crimson Tide to No. 20 in the polls. Alabama hasn't been ranked since dropping out of the poll following a loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 20, 2003. It's the highest ranking since the '02 team finished the season at No. 11.

"That game (against South Carolina) was a big step for us," said Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle, who was even afforded the luxury of sitting out part of the second half. "But we've still got a long way to go to get the respect that Alabama needs to get its program back going."

Lost in Alabama's 338 rushing yards against Carolina was Croyle's 28 yards on four carries, including a 15-yard TD scramble. While Croyle's teammates were cracking on him, calling him "Vanilla Vick," 'Bama coach and former Tide QB Mike Shula added, "I thought I was the slowest quarterback in Alabama history."

Yes, they are No. 1

When Arkansas coach Houston Nutt's team gets crushed like a roach under a bulldozer, as the Razorbacks did in a 70-17 loss at No. 1 Southern Cal on Saturday, it's a no-brainer for Nutt to vote the defending two-time national champion Trojans No. 1 again in this week's coaches poll. "I felt guilty I could only rank them No. 1," Nutt said. "They have a total team. They have the best offensive team I've seen." ... It's a team effort at Ole Miss. In the midst of Saturday's 31-23 loss at Vanderbilt, the Rebels received a sideline warning from an official. Apparently, Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone, standing on the sideline within earshot of an official, told him exactly what he thought of a ruling unfavorable to the Rebels. Also, Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat correctly had stadium security remove a Vanderbilt student who was viciously heckling Patrick Willis as he was being taken to the locker room with injury. ... It would have been nice if Mississippi State running back Jerious Norwood could have rested his bruised left shoulder in Saturday's 21-14 non-conference victory over Tulane. But the game was a struggle for State, which has no offensive threats when Norwood is not on the field. Norwood, who ran for 99 yards on 21 carries, including the game-winning 17-yard TD, acknowledged he was trying to absorb blows from defenders with his right shoulder.

Round and round

Just last week, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was talking about his team's fluid running back situation, and how different it was from last year when the Tigers had Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown, now in the NFL. "We had a situation where Ronnie Brown was the greatest reliever in college football," Tuberville said. "Cadillac was the starter and Ronnie was the reliever." It hasn't been that way this year, but after Auburn's 63-3 victory over Ball State on Saturday, running backs coach Eddie Gran said Kenny Irons is the No. 1 tailback and Carl Stewart is the No. 1 F-back, the role Ronnie Brown played on the situations when he and Brown were on the field at the same time.