College Football
Chris Jans, Mississippi State players preview Alabama game: ‘I think this group has earned some toughness’
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Coach Chris Jans, and Tolu Smith were ready for Alabama after a win on Thursday against Florida in overtime.
The Bulldogs have been on a hot streak, and have won 9 of their last 12 games. Standing in their way at a run for the title is Alabama, who has defeated the Bulldogs in 17 out of their last 20 matchups.
Confidence is running high with the Bulldogs, who are looking for revenge against the Tide.
Smith thinks the team has what it takes, as he said Thursday: “Yeah, I just feel like we gave them a good run both times. We made a couple mistakes in both games. I feel like we worked on and got better at. I think we’re going to give them a good run tomorrow and get the win.”
Dashawn Davis echoed Smith, and added “Like he say, I feel like we played them good both times. We made crucial mistakes last time, a couple bad calls. But we definitely ready to play them again.”
The Bulldogs success has come under the direction of Jans, who reflected on the Florida win.
“I’d like to enjoy this for a little bit,” he said. “But that’s not the way it works. It’s tournament play. I just look at it as a wonderful opportunity. I don’t know where they’re ranked, in the top 25, top 5, a No. 1 seed. They got great players, great coaches. We haven’t been able to beat them. We had two cracks at it. What an opportunity and obviously a big challenge for us.”
While the Bulldogs struggled against Florida, Jans hopes it’s not a repeat against the Crimson Tide.
When asked about the growth of his team and if they can beat Alabama, the coach had several thoughts.
“We’ll find out tomorrow, I guess. I would have liked to have said offensively, but coming off that performance, especially in the second half, it wouldn’t feel right coming out of my mouth,” he said. “We just struggled. A lot of that had to do with Florida. They just stuck with it, spread us out on the other end. We just struggled. We got out of rhythm. We didn’t make a three in the second half. We struggled from the free-throw line. In the end we just had to gut one out. I think this group has earned some toughness. They’ve come from behind. They’ve staved off other teams that way. I just think their makeup right now is probably a little bit better than it was then.”
