Brian Kelly recalls previous battles against Nick Saban, Alabama

Brian Kelly might be new to the SEC conference, but he is familiar with Alabama and their head coach Nick Saban. Before taking the job with the LSU Tigers, which all but guarantees him an annual faceoff with Saban, Kelly was the head man at Notre Dame and clashed with those Crimson Tide squads on a few occasions. As he prepares for his first matchup against Alabama at LSU, Kelly recalled his previous battles against Saban and the Crimson Tide, along with the advice he was presented with before heading to Louisiana.

“They were extremely talented teams. The ‘13 team was as physical of a football team that I have ever played against, and have not played a team as physical (since). And then, if you look at the perimeter skill that they had in ‘19, it was amazing. So, two different teams with just fabulous players on both sides of the ball,” said Kelly.

As far as the advice he received from Saban; there wasn’t much the Alabama coach told him.

“It was more about the SEC. It was much more of a general conversation. He didn’t give up any secrets about etouffee or Louisiana or LSU. If he did, I would have bought that house on Highland that he lived in. But no, there was nothing that specific. It had just been a conversation about the SEC in particular.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Kelly is 0-2 against Saban in his career. But with LSU, he has a purple and golden opportunity to pick up his first victory against him and the Crimson Tide. Saturday’s matchup will be yet another top-ten showdown between the two schools, with the victor gaining the top seed in the SEC West. And they will have the best opportunity to represent their division in the SEC championship game in December.

Kelly embracing the challenge of facing Alabama: ‘This is why I came to LSU’

After their bye week, LSU is now days away from the biggest game of their season. The No. 15 Tigers have worked their way to a 6-2 record and will now host No. 6 Alabama in a game that will have plenty to say in determining the race in the SEC West. With so much on the line, Brian Kelly says this is why players and coaches want to come to Baton Rouge.

Kelly spoke about this weekend’s game against the Crimson Tide during his press conference on Monday. He says it’s a great opportunity for him and his team but that the Tigers can’t let the outside noise get to them.

“That’s why you come to LSU. It’s not pressure. It’s a privilege to play in games like this. That’s certainly why I came to LSU…To play in games like this,” said Kelly. “All of the noise and all of the other things are just distractions. This is about preparation. This is about focusing on our process this week and preparing to play our very best.”