NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Alabama coach Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart have fielded some of the most formidable, suffocating defenses modern college football has seen since the pair arrived in Tuscaloosa together in 2007. The last time Alabama played a high-stakes game in the Superdome, the Tide kept LSU on its own side of the 50 during most of a 21-0 national championship triumph. The Tide (12-1) will be back in the same venue on Thursday night, this time to meet Ohio State (12-1) in the Sugar Bowl, which doubles this season as a national semifinal in the first College Football Playoff. The Tide also forced LSU to settle for a field goal after the Tigers had recovered T.J.