Nick Saban channels Bear Bryant to challenge team ahead of Texas matchup

Alabama head coach Nick Saban channeled another all-time great coach in the school’s history when he quoted Bear Bryant to motivate his team. Saban opened up his weekly press appearance with a quote from the legendary coach about how to measure your team’s ability in the hardest games of the season. The Crimson Tide will face a tough non-conference opponent on Saturday, when they travel to Texas for a marquee matchup.

Nick Saban quotes Bear Bryant

“You know Coach Bryant had an old saying — ‘You never know what a horse can pull until you give him a heavy load.’ So we obviously have a huge challenge, a pretty heavy load, in terms of playing on the road against a good team,” said Saban.

“And I think everybody needs to understand if you’re gonna pull the load, you’ve gotta prepare the right way. You’ve gotta work the right way. Can’t make mental errors. Gotta be able to stay focused when you’re playing on the road. Gotta overcome their emotion, their intensity, the crowd — all kinds of challenges. So we’ll kinda see what we’re ready to pull aight, when we go out there and play on Saturday.”

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It’s clear that Saban is pulling out all the stops to make sure his team is ready for their trip to Austin this week — invoking the wisdom of one of the biggest names in Crimson Tide history. Alabama opened their season last week against Utah State and handled business with a 55-0 win. On the other side of the matchup, Texas began their 2022 push with a 52-10 win over Louisiana-Monroe — setting expectations high for both offenses on Saturday.

As of Wednesday evening, Alabama was listed as 19.5-point favorites according to Vegas Insider. The matchup has great implications on top-25 rankings in the early season for both teams, while also serving as an early look at the atmosphere for future games as Texas moves to the SEC.