Nick Saban, Alabama preparing for 'heavyweight fight' against LSU

Nick Saban, Jalen Milroe and the Alabama Crimson Tide are ready for a gigantic SEC showdown against Brian Kelly, Jayden Daniels and the LSU Tigers.

Ahead of the clash, Saban joined the crew over at ESPN College GameDay, where he elaborated on what he’s expecting on Saturday, and it’s evident he believes it’ll be a fiery game.

“I think every game’s a little bit different,” started Saban. “In this game, both teams are going to want to win, a little bit like a heavyweight fight. They’re going to hit us, we’re going to hit them. They’re going to knock us down, we’ll knock them down. It’s who can sustain that. Who can sustain, and be the last man standing. Because you have the mental toughness that you need to be able to sustain, and stay in the moment.

“I think that’s one of the things — you know, we talk about being positive, but more important than being positive, you’ve got to stay in the moment. You’ve got to be able to play the next play, regardless of what happens. So you can get some consistency in performance, going against a good opponent.”

Alas, Alabama will be relying on the aforementioned Milroe in a big way on Saturday. Can the Alabama quarterback lead the Crimson Tide to victory? According to Saban, his confidence in Milroe is higher than it’s ever been.

“Well, I think it’s a lot to do with confidence. And I think it has to do with experience,” Saban explained. “You know, experience is nothing but an accumulation of all the mistakes that we’ve made in the past. Right? I mean, that’s all of us. Me, you guys, everybody. So, when you learn from all those things, which Jalen has and he’s done a really good job of that. And you stay positive, then you start to develop confidence because you start making plays and doing things right on a more consistent basis.

“I think that makes you feel good about yourself. And it makes you impact other people around you because of the way you carry yourself. And I think that’s started to happen and you know, hopefully we can continue to build on that.”

It remains to be seen who puts themselves in the driver’s seat in the SEC West, but Alabama and LSU have a tremendous shot at doing so on Saturday. This is going to be a good one in Week 10.