TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Every year University of Alabama coach Nick Saban gets asked if coming off a bye is an advantage or disadvantage for the next game, and every year he has the same answer.

So this week he pre-empted the question by opening his Monday press conference with it:

“I don’t know the answer to that,” Saban said. “I know that the focus for us was on improvement as a team, try to make corrections, speak with every individual player about what they can do to improve their individual performance, which will hopefully improve, how your unit becomes more effective because of each individual doing a better job on a consistent basis.

“In a lot of cases we got that done. In some cases maybe we didn’t.”

The down time also gave players a chance to get over some bumps and bruises from the first month of the season, especially those involved in a lot of contact.

On the other hand, a team gets out of its routine during a bye. Considering the Crimson Tide had been essentially doing the same thing since training camp opened in early August, junior center Ryan Kelly said it can be a little “weird” to suddenly have nothing to do on a Saturday.

“It changes the practice (schedule),” he said.

The answer will be more apparent after Alabama visits Ole Miss on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS), as the Crimson Tide continues a seven-week stretch in which it will play at home only once.

Since Saban arrived at Alabama in 2007 the Crimson Tide is 6-3 in games following a bye during the regular season. All three losses have come against the same opponent, LSU, which at the time was ranked No. 1, 3, and 12, and in each case the Tigers were coming off a bye as well.

Only one of those games was against Ole Miss. In 2008 it gave Alabama everything it could handle, but still lost 24-20 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Crimson Tide is 3-0 under Saban when it’s coming off a bye by the opposing team played the week before. The Rebels won at home against Memphis on Saturday, 24-3.