Nick Saban opens up on added boost of having marquee games at home

This Saturday, the Alabama Crimson Tide will host the LSU Tigers in a key SEC West game. For head coach Nick Saban, there is a huge boost that comes with playing these marquee games at home.

Among the things that Saban emphasized about playing these massive games at home was that it’s great for the fans. He also added that the atmosphere those fans create has made it easier for the Crimson Tide to earn tough wins.

“I think it’s great for our fans that we have quality opponents that come here and they have an opportunity to cheer our team on,” Nick Saban said. “I think the atmosphere and environment that’s been created in all of our games this year has been phenomenal.”

Along with the LSU game this week, Alabama has also had massive home games this season against Texas, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.

“I think it’s gonna be really, really important in this game — I thought it was absolutely as good as it ever gets in the Tennessee game, which I think had an impact on the game and affected them. I think it’s gonna be important that we have that same kind of atmosphere in this game,” Saban said.

“But I think it’s exciting for our fans, I know our players love playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium, and big games are always something that we look forward to playing, especially in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.”

Last season, Alabama lost road games to Tennessee and LSU. Now, the Crimson Tide have the chance to avenge both those losses in back-to-back home games.

Nick Saban addresses Tommy Rees’ approach before facing former coach Brian Kelly

One of the interesting stories going into the Alabama-LSU game is that Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will be taking on his former head coach, Brian Kelly, who he both played for and coached for at Notre Dame.

Ahead of that meeting, Nick Saban noted Tommy Rees’ approach to the matchup.

“Tommy works hard and tries to do the best he can to help our players play well in the game. I don’t think in these kinds of games you want to sort of try to — I don’t know what you would call it — do a lot of new stuff because the players need to have confidence in what you’re doing. They gain confidence in doing that through cumulative reps throughout the season,” Saban said.

“If you just make a bunch of changes, they start looking at you like, ‘Don’t you think we can execute what we’ve been doing?’ So I think you’ve got to be a little careful, but I don’t see that happening. I think he’s focused on trying to get our players in the right spots to do the right things that help them have a chance to be successful.”