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Alabama earned a big victory over LSU last week. Now the Crimson Tide face another challenge this week, against another ranked team.
The third-ranked Crimson Tide (8-1) travel to Starkville, Miss. on Saturday to face No. 20 Mississippi State (7-2). The game will be shown on CBS at 3:30 p.m.
“We’re going to play a totally different team this week,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during his weekly radio show on Thursday night. “There’s not one ounce of similarity between them and LSU.”
Nick Saban said Mississippi State shares “not one ounce of similarity” with what LSU does. The Bulldogs operate out of a fast-pace offense.
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) November 13, 2015
Not surprisingly, the first Mississippi State player Saban mentioned was star quarterback Dak Prescott.
“Dak passes the ball really, really well,” he said, adding that Prescott had only thrown one interception all year.
One thing Saban says Mississippi State does very well is avoid penalties. The Bulldogs are the least-penalized team in the SEC, and rank third nationally. On the other hand, Saban says Alabama needs to cut down on the number of penalties it commits.
Another thing the Bulldogs do well is tackle opposing players in the backfield. Saban said the Mississippi State defense has caused 84 or 85 negative plays this season, which ranks among the best in the country. The Crimson Tide coach said Alabama needs to avoid negative plays on Saturday.
Alabama now controls its destiny in the SEC West, thanks to a 30-16 victory over LSU last Saturday. Derrick Henry rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide defense held LSU’s Leonard Fournette, the nation’s leading rusher, to just 31 yards on 19 carries.
“It really was an all-around team win,” Saban said.
Against LSU, the Crimson Tide defense was good at getting off the field. LSU’s offense took just 45 snaps in the game.
“Obviously the defense played pretty well,” the coach said.
Many teams have made changes to their uniforms recently, or now have several different uniform combinations. Alabama has worn the same uniform for decades, and that probably won’t change as long as Saban is the coach.
Saban on new ideas for #Alabama uniform changes: “I’m a traditionalist … That’s not a tradition I think anybody has a right to mess with.” — Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) November 13, 2015
The Nick Saban Show is held every Thursday during football season from 8-9 p.m. Eastern time. The show is hosted by Saban and Alabama play-by-play man Eli Gold. The show can be heard online at this link.
