Nick Saban details the benefits of playing Texas in Week 2 of the season

Alabama head coach Nick Saban secured a close win on the road in one of the most hostile enviroments in the country against Texas this weekend. Saban was asked about the benefits of playing big-time competition early in the season and detailed how helpful it is for his team to play in environments similar to what they’ll see in the near future.

“Well I think there’s a tremendous benefit for players, first of all, playing on the road in what is the typical SEC environment when you play on the road. Playing a team that is the caliber of most of the teams that we’ll play in the SEC, so I think there’s a huge benefit in that,” Saban said.

Saban discusses the hardships of playing on the road and the amount of detail and discipline required to focus on the task at hand for an entire ball game. The Crimson Tide ended the game with 15 penalties that accounted for 100 yards when it was all said and done, which Saban knows will need to improve moving forward.

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“And the fact that there’s a lot the lessons that I’ve already talked about that we can learn from this experience in terms of staying focused on what’s in front of you when you play on the road and how difficult it is to play well on the road,” Saban said. “And being able to overcome those circumstances, and still execute, and play smart in a more positive way for every play in the game for 60 minutes in the game. Which we were kind of a little bit up and down, back and forth with that, made more mental errors than what we’ll be able to get away with in the future.”

Alabama has been pushing towards scheduling more of the nation’s top teams in the near future. The Crimson Tide opened up last season against Miami, and will complete their home and home series with Texas next season in Tuscaloosa. They’ve also scheduled a home and home series with Wisconsin that will take place in 2024 and 2025, and will also face Florida State on the road in Tallahassee in 2025 as well.

There’s surely a slate of exciting, non-conference matchups ahead of the Crimson Tide in the future, and coach Saban seems like a big advocate for them and how they benefit his players and program.