Nick Saban reflects on time on both sides of LSU, Alabama rivalry

In 2000, Nick Saban got his first taste of the LSU vs. Alabama rivalry when he took over for Gerry DiNardo as Tigers head coach. He won three out of four games against the Crimson Tide before heading to the NFL, but jumped to the other side of the rivalry when he became Alabama’s head coach in 2007.

As he prepares for another installation of the game Saturday night, Saban reflected on his time on both sidelines during his pregame interview with CBS’ Jenny Dell.

“It’s a game that when I was on the other side, we had a tremendous amount of respect for Alabama, and now that I’m on this side, we have a tremendous amount of respect for LSU,” Saban said. “We’ve had some great games through the years. Lots of great players in these games, and there’s a lot of great players in this game tonight.”

Since his arrival at Alabama, Saban has 12 wins over LSU — including the 2012 BCS national championship game. The Crimson Tide have won nine of the last 11 matchups since then, but LSU came away with the victory in last year’s game to start the Brian Kelly era.

Nick Saban: ‘Team defense’ will be key to stopping high-powered LSU team

This year won’t be an easy task for Alabama as Jayden Daniels puts together a huge second year with the Tigers after transferring from Arizona State. He leads the SEC with 398 total yards of offense per game as a true dual threat with his arm and his legs. He’s a huge reason LSU enters Saturday night with the SEC’s No. 1 scoring offense and total offense.

When it comes to getting stops on defense, Saban said it’s about playing as unit. LSU’s ability to beat teams in multiple ways makes it difficult to game-plan against, which is why Saban said everyone has to be in sync.

“You’ve got to play great team defense,” Saban said. “They’re going to move the point of attack with their option game. The quarterback’s got great ability to hurt you throwing the ball down the field. They’ve got a really good play-action pass game. The offensive line is good. They can run the ball. They’ve got a good back.

“When you talk about all those things, there’s not just one thing you have to do. You have to have all 11 guys doing exactly what they’re supposed to do, and trying to be physical in the way they do it because that’s the kind of game it’s going to be.”