Alabama Coach Nick Saban Previews Matchup Against Mississippi State
Mississippi State is set to host No. 12 Alabama in Starkville, Mississippi this weekend, which marks the first road game for the Crimson Tide this season.
Mississippi State is coming off of a close road loss to South Carolina, sitting at a 2-2 overall record, including 0-2 in SEC play. They will have an opportunity to get their first conference win this weekend when Alabama comes to town.
The Crimson Tide this year, who started out at No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, have had consistency issues on the field. They suffered an early loss to Texas and struggled to pull away from South Florida on the road with inconsistent quarterback play. They currently sit at a 3-1 record, including 1-0 in SEC play after beating Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa last weekend.
During a press conference on Monday, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said that playing the Bulldogs in their house will not be an easy task for the suddenly revitalized Crimson Tide.
“Our first SEC road game, and this is actually a bigger challenge for us than the last two games, in my opinion," Saban said of the Bulldogs in his press conference Monday.
“In terms of, this team is very physical, very aggressive on defense. Creates a lot of negative plays. They’ve got a lot of starters back. They know their system. They know their scheme. They play very, very well."
Saban also gave props to Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett and his system. Arnett is in his first full season as the head coach of Mississippi State following the death of Mike Leach. Arnett also lead the Bulldogs to victory in the ReliaQuest Bowl over Illinois following to Leach's death.
“You know, Zach Arnett It’s his system," Saban said. "He’s a very good defensive coach. As the head coach, he’s done a really good job there. Obviously the quarterback [Will Rogers] has been an outstanding player for a long time. But with the new offense that they run, there’s a lot more balance in it. They’ve got two really good backs that are very, very productive when they run the football. They’ve got a really, really good receiver. No. 5, [Lideatrick Griffin] Who is very, very productive. They’ve made a lot of explosive plays. … They play really good on special teams."
“This is an overall really, really good team, and it’s going to be a real challenge for us, going on the road in the SEC to play against this team this week, and this is something that our players have to really focus on, and do a great job in preparation, so we can eliminate you know, some of these things that have happened in games. Whether they’re drive-stoppers, or giving up the big play or whatever it is. We’ve got to eliminate those things.”
Mississippi State's game against Alabama is set to kickoff at 8:00 p.m. CT this Saturday, Sept 30 in Starkville. The game will be aired on ESPN.
