TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram has not returned to practice for No. 1 Alabama and while Nick Saban said the injured running back is unlikely to play against No. 18 Penn State on Saturday, the coach isn't necessarily counting his star out. SEC blog ESPN.com's Chris Low writes about all things SEC in his conference blog. • Blog network: College Football Nation "If there is anybody in the world that can play without practicing, it's probably Mark," Saban said after Wednesday's practice. "He's a student of the game, he watches everything, understands everything, knows everything and he's a tremendous competitor. He has a lot of experience, but we would never put him in that situation." Ingram had left knee surgery last week, but Saban said he was able to do some running the past two days. "I just don't know if Mark's going to have enough practice time," he said. "He's getting close, but I don't know if he'll have enough practice time in to be able to play in the game or not." Before practice, Saban said Ingram's knee was "improving every day" and hasn't had swelling but the Heisman winner "probably" wouldn't be able to play. The Tide (1-0) faces the Nittany Lions (1-0) Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. "If he can continue to progress -- I would say he's probably not going to be ready to play this week," Saban said. "He might be ready by the game, but he won't be able to practice enough. "After that, maybe we have a chance to get him back if he continues to progress." Ingram sat out Alabama's opener against San Jose State after having an arthroscopic procedure to repair an injury sustained in practice early on opening week. Backup Trent Richardson had 10 carries for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with three catches for 46 yards in the win over San Jose State. He only played the first half. Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

5 Things to Watch in the SEC this week Trap game for Auburn? The trip to Starkville has “danger” written all over it for Auburn, even with its impressive offense. It’s Cam New ton’s first SEC start. It’s a short week. It’s a road game in a difficult environment. It’s an opponent whose coach, Dan…

Saban: ‘It would be a (bleep) crying-(bleep) shame’ if Tide fans boo Nittany Lions “Our football program and our stadium is probably the largest window that anyone looks at in the state of Alabama and maybe the University of Alabama,” he said. “And I just don’t think there’s any place for booing anywhere in college…

Dan Mullen Must Be Licking His Chops: Auburn Tigers Review There were questions going into the Arkansas State game for the Tigers. Could Cam Newton lead the offense? How would the running game look without Ben Tate? What would the defense that was prone to giving up big plays look like? The first thing Auburn…

Mississippi State vs. Auburn Long anticipated in the off-season in Starkville, Mississippi State gets its chance to score a signature win for 2010 as Auburn comes to town in the spotlight of ESPN’s Thursday night cameras. Much of the anticipation dealt with Cameron Newton, the Tigers quarterback who was heavily recruited by Mississippi State in…

New Orleans hopes to keep the party going New Orleans’ momentous victory over the Indianapolis Colts occurred in the middle of the city’s parade season, so the Saints’ celebratory ride through town with the Vince Lombardi Trophy was simply added to the lineup. In the following days, players, coaches, team officials and the trophy made…

NCAA suspends Georgia’s Green four games The NCAA has deemed Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green ineligible for the Bulldogs’ next three games — all against SEC foes — after finding he sold a game-worn jersey for $1,000 to a person that meets the association’s definition of an agent. Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said in…

Fresh twist for Michigan, ND The largest crowd to ever watch a football game (113,090) gathered in Ann Arbor on Saturday. Down the road in South Bend, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez were part of an 81,000-plus throng. Michigan found itself a quarterback with knot-adverse Denard Robinson. Notre Dame discovered a defense capable of actually…

Barbour says he’ll decide about 2012 run after the Nov. election Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) on Wednesday said he’d decide whether to run for president after the November election. Barbour, a GOP insider often mentioned as a candidate to challenge President Obama in 2012, didn’t rule out the possibility, but said he hasn’t seriously…

The ten most vulnerable incumbents in 2010 Rep. Travis Childers, D-Mississippi Childers is a pro-gun, pro-life conservative Democrat representing a conservative northern Mississippi district. But he’s a Democrat. And this year, being a Democrat in this GOP-leaning district, which John McCain won handily in 2008, could be a recipe for defeat. Times Union Blog 9/9/10

Nunnelee’s Camp Reacts To Poll The Commercial Appeal got reaction from Alan Nunnelee’s side on the Anzalone Liszt Research poll conducted for Travis Childers showing the incumbent with a 46-41 edge over Nunnelee. Morgan Baldwin, campaign consultant for Nunnelee, said: “I can’t speak to the validity of their numbers, but as an incumbent, I wouldn’t…