Saban prepares team for big game against MSU

Nick Saban refused to say it before the LSU game. Alabama’s football coach was saving it for this week.

“For all of you who sat here last week trying to get me to say that that was the biggest game of the year and it’s the only thing that you can understand, my question to you now is, ‘How do you feel now about this game?’” he asked, referring to Saturday’s showdown against Mississippi State. “It’s the biggest game of the year. Right or wrong? So that’s good for this week’s papers, right? Should be real good for this week’s papers.”

Well, that’s what he said. Maybe he’s trying to prevent a post-LSU hangover; maybe he’s reminding his players that Mississippi State came to Tuscaloosa and stunned the Crimson Tide 24-16 in a game that wasn’t that close; or maybe he believes it.

“It’s going to be a tough game for us,” Saban said. “We cannot be disappointed about the circumstances we’re in. How we bounce back will be as challenging relative to our character and our attitude and how we approach moving forward and looking forward relative to what this team can accomplish, and it all starts in this game.”

A double “relative” in one sentence. The man is serious.

Alabama plays in Starkville, Miss., for the 11:30 a.m. kickoff. It will be the fourth Lincoln Financial SEC Game of the Week for both the Tide and the Bulldogs this season.

Last season’s game was also a morning start. The result didn’t just wreck Alabama’s day, it wrecked its season.

The Crimson Tide lost to State, then LSU and Auburn to close the regular season.

By the time Alabama played Oklahoma State in the Independence Bowl, head coach Mike Shula was gone.

“I think it caused a lot of changes to happen around here,” free safety Rashad Johnson said about that loss to Mississippi State. “The season just changed completely. That was two games in a row and then we ended up losing the Auburn game and ended up losing the bowl game. The attitude of the players just seemed like a big downhill thing for us.”

As down as the team was last year after falling to the Bulldogs, it’s rebounding from the emotional loss to LSU that has Saban concerned.

“If you’ve got pride in your performance you will play well in the next game, you will prepare to play well in the next game, and you’ve got to put it behind you,” the coach said. “That’s what we need to do. It’s a challenge to everyone in terms of how they will overcome adversity.”

Guard Justin Britt admitted it was a tough loss to take.

“It still is tough,” Britt said. “We would have been in the driver’s seat for the SEC West championship.”

He also knows the Bulldogs won’t be feeling sorry for them.

“You just have to look inside yourself. You really do. That’s part of being an SEC football player,” Britt said. “If you’re a starter for the University of Alabama, you’ve got to be able to handle the ups and the downs. ... You’ve got to be able to look inside yourself and you’ve got to respond.”

Johnson said it may help that this game comes against Mississippi State since the Bulldogs beat the Tide so soundly last season.

“I think it does (help us),” the junior said. “Maybe guys didn’t look at Mississippi State as a team that actually could beat us last year. They looked at it as a challenge to beat us.

“Now that they have a great team this year, they’ve beaten good teams this year. They beat Auburn and a couple other good teams this year. We need to really go out and play well. We can’t take this lightly. ... We just need to go out this week and concentrate on us and be ready to play Saturday.”