Nick Saban is never one to mince words, and during Monday’s press conference he was blunt again about Saturday’s prime-time visit to Starkville to face a Mississippi State team that is already 0-2 in the SEC.

An easy task for the suddenly revitalized Crimson Tide?

Hardly.

“This is actually a bigger challenge for us than the last two games, in my opinion, because this team is very physical, very aggressive on defense,” said Saban.

The Bulldogs have allowed a combined 78 points in their 1st 2 conference games, getting blown out, 41-14, at home by LSU in the SEC opener before this past Saturday’s 37-30 loss at South Carolina. Still, it is a road game for Bama, at night, against a team desperate to not fall into the abyss completely with an 0-3 conference record.

The Bulldogs still have quarterback Will Rogers, who threw for 487 yards in the shootout loss in Columbia, and they still have wide receiver Lideatrick Griffin, who rolled up 256 yards receiving on 7 catches and had 1 touchdown. Fellow wideout Justin Robinson, who had 6 catches for 91 yards on Saturday, is also a threat that Saban’s secondary will have to account for.

Even though Mississippi State has given up a ton of points the past few weeks, it still has that physicality that Saban spoke about Monday, led by linebackers Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson, and defensive tackle Nathan Pickering.

“They create a lot of negative plays, they got a lot of starters back, they know their system, they know their scheme,” said Saban. “Zach Arnett, his system, he’s a very good defensive coach.”