Nick Saban urges Alabama fans 'to create the momentum' against Tennessee
Nick Saban ended his weekly radio show Thursday night by pleading with Alabama fans to make Bryant-Denny Stadium a hostile environment Saturday afternoon when the 11th-ranked Crimson Tide host No. 17 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa.
Saban’s final remarks on his ‘Hey Coach’ radio show were directed at the fans and just how much of an impact they can have in Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff (TV: CBS) in the latest edition of the Third Saturday in October rivalry game:
“We talk about what a great rivalry game this is and what a big game it is,” Saban said. “But it should be a big game for everybody. Everybody’s on the team – all the fans, everybody. And the fans in this game should have a huge impact on this game. I mean, you can have a huge impact with the noise that you make.
“This team is trying to go fast. They run 2.7 plays every minute in the game. So you can affect that and disrupt that by making noise, and it’s going to create energy and environment that our players will play better in, they’ll be able to sustain their intensity better in, which is what we lost last week because it’s gonna take that kind of game for 60 minutes.
“These guys make a lot of explosive plays. They go fast. So it’s going to be one of those kinds of games, and everybody’s gotta stay with it. You got to play the next play and stay in it as fans, and you create the momentum of the game by what you do as fans. Don’t worry about the players creating that. You create it for them, one time. One time. I’m asking you to do that.”
No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Tennessee leaned on its home-field advantage a year ago, beating Alabama 52-49 inside a sold-out Neyland Stadium to snap a 15-game losing streak in the rivalry. The Tide committed 17 penalties for 130 yards in the loss.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this week, Saban said his team played “with a lot of anxiety” in Knoxville.
“I think the big thing for our guys is we have played well when we’re a little bit upset and have an edge to us, and that’s something we need to go in this game with,” Saban said.
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“I thought we played the game last year with a lot of anxiety. There was a lot on the line. A lot of guys put a lot of pressure on themselves.”
Vols looking for first road win of the season
Tennessee has won 13 straight games at Neyland Stadium but hasn’t been the same team away from home, playing in hostile environments.
The Vols lost 29-16 at Florida on September 16, the only true road game so far this season, and lost at Georgia and South Carolina last November.
Saban said his team playing well as the home team Saturday will require playing with “an edge.”
“We want to keep an edge about how we compete,” he said, “how we focus, how we play because the way (Tennessee plays) challenges you to do that.”
