Alabama faces Middle Tennessee in Tuscaloosa on Saturday
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Nick Saban became progressively more animated throughout his answer, his voice rising after a question referencing Alabama being a "heavy favorite" over upcoming opponent Middle Tennessee.
Saban then circled back, addressing the topic more after finishing his initial rant and being asked an unrelated question by a different media member.
"I'm sorry you need to ask me that again," Saban said, his voice progressively rising again. "I'm still on the last question because being able to concentrate on the right thing at the right time is critical to being successful. All right. So what's the right thing at the right time now? Improving our team."
Saban then paused and said lightheartedly to the reporter, "Sorry, it's not your fault."
The first part of the rant lasted around 65 seconds.
The question posed to Saban was in relation to Coker and fellow quarterback Cooper Bateman.
The two, Saban said Saturday night, are still competing to be the Tide's starting quarterback.
Both saw time during Alabama's 35-17 win over Wisconsin Saturday night.
The reporter asked, "You said seeing how they do on the field when the bullets are flying is kind of the best way to read how a quarterback does. Is this a game — this week where you're a heavy favorite — where maybe you create a little competition in the game between the two of them?"
"We took one step up on the climb, and we need to improve significantly. All right. So we're not approaching this game like ... it's the most important game in the season for us because it's the next game, and it's the next opportunity for us to get better. So we're not trying to create anything based on who we're playing because we respect who we're playing, and I suggest that everybody else does too."
Middle Tennessee — which runs an up-tempo spread offense — racked up 605 yards and 36 first downs in beating Jackson State, 70-14, in its season-opening game on Saturday.
"They just put 700 yards or something on a team, so we respect that, and we respect what they do," Saban said. "We respect their players and we respect their coaches. They go fast. It's going to probably be a hot day. We've got lots of issues and a lot of problems to deal with just in creating the type of performance that we want to create without creating something else."
Alabama and Middle Tennessee play Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
Under longtime coach Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders finished 6-6 last season.
Middle Tennessee returned 16 offensive and defensive starters from last year's team, including safety Kevin Byard.
Projected by Walter Football to be a second-to-fourth round pick in next year's NFL draft, Byard has 15 career interceptions, including four he has returned for touchdowns.
Stockstill's son — Brent, a redshirt freshman who won Middle Tennessee's starting quarterback during the summer — was 23 of 29 for 336 yards with four touchdowns and one interception against Jackson State.
The Blue Raiders outgained Jackson State 605-276.
"[Middle Tennessee] had a big win the first week," Saban said earlier in Monday's news conference. "Very impressive in the way they played offensively and defensively. Rick Stockstill has been there for awhile, and they do a great job.
"They go fast on offense and have got really good concepts and schemes in what they do. Good quarterback and lots of returning players on both sides of the ball. This is a game that I feel like will be a challenge for us, ourselves to improve and be ready and play to a standard that's going to help us to get better as a team."
Continue reading...
[parsehtml]<object id="flashObj" width="480" height="270" classid="clsid
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Saban then circled back, addressing the topic more after finishing his initial rant and being asked an unrelated question by a different media member.
"I'm sorry you need to ask me that again," Saban said, his voice progressively rising again. "I'm still on the last question because being able to concentrate on the right thing at the right time is critical to being successful. All right. So what's the right thing at the right time now? Improving our team."
Saban then paused and said lightheartedly to the reporter, "Sorry, it's not your fault."
The first part of the rant lasted around 65 seconds.
The question posed to Saban was in relation to Coker and fellow quarterback Cooper Bateman.
The two, Saban said Saturday night, are still competing to be the Tide's starting quarterback.
Both saw time during Alabama's 35-17 win over Wisconsin Saturday night.
The reporter asked, "You said seeing how they do on the field when the bullets are flying is kind of the best way to read how a quarterback does. Is this a game — this week where you're a heavy favorite — where maybe you create a little competition in the game between the two of them?"
"We took one step up on the climb, and we need to improve significantly. All right. So we're not approaching this game like ... it's the most important game in the season for us because it's the next game, and it's the next opportunity for us to get better. So we're not trying to create anything based on who we're playing because we respect who we're playing, and I suggest that everybody else does too."
Middle Tennessee — which runs an up-tempo spread offense — racked up 605 yards and 36 first downs in beating Jackson State, 70-14, in its season-opening game on Saturday.
"They just put 700 yards or something on a team, so we respect that, and we respect what they do," Saban said. "We respect their players and we respect their coaches. They go fast. It's going to probably be a hot day. We've got lots of issues and a lot of problems to deal with just in creating the type of performance that we want to create without creating something else."
Alabama and Middle Tennessee play Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
Under longtime coach Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders finished 6-6 last season.
Middle Tennessee returned 16 offensive and defensive starters from last year's team, including safety Kevin Byard.
Projected by Walter Football to be a second-to-fourth round pick in next year's NFL draft, Byard has 15 career interceptions, including four he has returned for touchdowns.
Stockstill's son — Brent, a redshirt freshman who won Middle Tennessee's starting quarterback during the summer — was 23 of 29 for 336 yards with four touchdowns and one interception against Jackson State.
The Blue Raiders outgained Jackson State 605-276.
"[Middle Tennessee] had a big win the first week," Saban said earlier in Monday's news conference. "Very impressive in the way they played offensively and defensively. Rick Stockstill has been there for awhile, and they do a great job.
"They go fast on offense and have got really good concepts and schemes in what they do. Good quarterback and lots of returning players on both sides of the ball. This is a game that I feel like will be a challenge for us, ourselves to improve and be ready and play to a standard that's going to help us to get better as a team."
Continue reading...
