Saban to team before Texas game: 'You better get ready for a street fight'

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is expecting a challenging game this weekend when the No. 3 Crimson Tide welcomes the 11th-ranked Texas Longhorns to Bryant-Denny Stadium.

During his Thursday radio show, Saban shared his message to the team after practice.

“‘You better get ready for a street fight,’” Saban said. “‘You’re gonna have to punch them. They’re gonna punch you. You’re gonna get knocked down – you’re gonna have to get up. You’re gonna knock them down, aight. But it’s who can grind it out for 60 minutes in the game?’

“Adversity breaks some people and makes some people break. But you’ve gotta have a sense of character to be able to comprehend that and be able to sustain when things aren’t going exactly right. And when you have games like this, it’s not gonna be perfect for us, it’s not gonna be easy for. It’s not gonna be easy for them. 

“So you have to be able to sustain and grind it out and try to dominate your box. And that’s not gonna happen on the first play. It’s gonna happen in 50 plays or 70 plays or whatever, but you’ve gotta keep grinding or it’s not gonna happen.”

Alabama needed every play in last year’s meeting to top Texas, 20-19, in Austin. The Longhorns welcomed back 16 starters (10 offense, 6 defense) from its 2022 squad but will be playing in its first non-conference road game against an AP Poll top-three team since 1954. Which is why the Crimson Tide head coach shared a similar message to UA fans as his players.

“This is a big game, no doubt,” Saban said. “I think it’s a big game for a lot of reasons, but one of the most important reasons to me and what I’m really anxious to see is where are we as a team. It’s an opportunity for every player on the team to play against a good player and see where he is as an individual player and together, everybody being accountable and responsible to do things at a high level and at a high standard to see where we are as a team. I think that’s the most important thing, to me. 

“Now, does it have other things that can happen externally that really matter, but at this point, I think us being ready to play, the fans creating enthusiasm for us to be ready to play, everybody’s gotta look at this like it’s a street fight and we’re all gonna be in the street fight, and there’s gonna be good things happening and bad things happening. We’ve gotta stay positive and supportive and help our players do a great job for 60 minutes in the game.

“I don’t give a … darn what happens in the game. We’re going to play hard, be physical, play with toughness, have the discipline to execute for 60 minutes in the game, and everybody involved in the game, including the fans, have to be supportive in helping the players do that because that’s what it’s gonna take.”

The Alabama-Texas matchup will kick off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN on Saturday, Sept. 9.

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