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Nick Saban explains hope for how Alabama players handled bye week ahead of LSU clash
Nick Saban explained his hope for how his Alabama players handled the bye week ahead of their LSU clash in Week 10.
Nick Saban and his Alabama team are coming off of a bye week, but the Crimson Tide have a difficult matchup with the LSU Tigers in Week 10.
Ahead of the showdown, Saban explained what he hoped his players did over their bye week, believing that there’s still much to do even if you don’t have a game, like Alabama in Week 9.
“I think that you know, you want your players, as I alluded to before, to enjoy their time off, but you also want them to be focused and ready to go, when they come back,” Saban delineated. “So there’s a balance in all that. You know, you can’t dissipate, and go and not eat right and not do the right thing while you’re off. You can still enjoy yourself, but you also can stay focused on what you need to do when you come back, and I think (there’s) combination and balance, in all that. Balance in life is important, about everything that you do.
“That kind of balance can create very positive results for you, when you come back and you’re ready to go. If you didn’t think about your job, what your responsibility is one minute for three days, you’re probably not going to benefit very much from the time you had off.”
One of the reasons Saban is hoping his Crimson Tide squad didn’t meander during their bye week is the difficulty LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels presents. The Alabama leader recognizes the Tigers star will be a headache for his team this weekend.
“They’re the No. 1 offensive team in the country and it starts with the quarterback, Jayden Daniels,” Saban added. “This guy is a phenomenal player. He’s a dual threat player, he’s great passer, he makes lots of plays with his feet, he’s fast. Not only can he scramble to run, but he can scramble to throw.”
“He killed us last year. The guy was a really good player last year. He’s a really good player now. I think, overall, they execute their offense to perfection. It starts with him because he makes the right reads relative to runs and passes and zone option plays and pass-down plays.”
Last season, Daniels was excellent in LSU’s 32-31 overtime win over Alabama. In the victory, Daniels tallied 182 passing yards and two touchdowns while throwing zero interceptions.
Daniels’ arm wasn’t his only threat, as he also rattled off a team-high 95 rushing yards in the win and a score on the ground. The performance was enough to knock off Alabama and, effectively, end its hopes at reaching the College Football Playoff.
