Nick Saban Emphasizes Importance of Atmosphere Ahead of Texas Game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In just a few days, Tuscaloosa will become the epicenter of the college football world.

College GameDay, SEC Nation, live radio shows throughout the week, recruiting visits, you name it. If it relates to college football, it will likely be descending on the Capstone come Saturday, where all eyes will be on Bryant-Denny Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff between two of the sports' all-time powers, Alabama and Texas.

Oddly enough, given Alabama's place of prominence in the sport, it’s been a while since a game of this magnitude came to town.

Going off College GameDay appearances alone, Tuscaloosa hasn't hosted since October of 2020 when No. 3 Georgia came to town. But even that was a year of limited capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions, so you have to go back even further to 2019, when Joe Burrow and No. 2 LSU headlined a matchup between SEC West foes that featured a visit from then-President Donald Trump.

With an AP ranking of No. 11, Texas is the highest ranked team to play a game at Alabama since that Georgia game in 2020, and will be the highest ranked team to play in Bryant-Denny against a full crowd, raucous and clad in crimson and white, since 2019.

That's almost four years.

Head coach Nick Saban, who addressed reporters for the final time before the game on Wednesday evening, knows the effects a fired-up crowd can have on games with this much anticipation.

"I think atmosphere and environment in this game, fans – their energy and enthusiasm – really can have an impact on a game like this," Saban said.

It's safe to say these fans are going to be eager, with ticket prices in the upper bowl going as low as around $200, per Ticketmaster, and select lower bowl tickets exceeding the four-digit mark in asking price.

"[The fans] impact the offense, their ability to check, their ability to communicate, sometimes get the snap count right," Saban said. "So I think the fans being in this game can create not only positive energy for our team, which we certainly appreciate and I know the players appreciate, but also make it more difficult for the other team to operate when they have the ball."

The effect the crowd can have on offenses cannot be understated, especially when an offense as talented as Texas is the team on the opposing sideline.

Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers is an uber-talented signal-caller, and one that led Texas to an early lead over Alabama last season in Austin before being knocked out of the game with an injury.

The Longhorns also sport talented wide receivers Xavier Worthy and A.D. Mitchell, who will surely give Alabama's secondary an excellent test.

"I think [Texas] is one of the better offensive teams, personnel wise and skill wise [...] that we'll see all season," Saban said.

When Saturday rolls around, Tuscaloosa will be one the highest-populated cities in the state. Over 100,000 people will fill the insides of Bryant-Denny Stadium, and many, many more will gather throughout the town to watch two blue blood programs go to war for 60 minutes.

It's probably safe to say that Saban is going to get the atmosphere and home field advantage that he wants.