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Nick Saban has fared well in early games throughout his career.
The Alabama head coach is undefeated in game that kickoff before 11:30 a.m.
But that undefeated record means little to Saban. He treats the early games exactly how he would a 7 p.m. kick and makes sure his team is ready to go, no matter who the opponent is.
This week, Alabama will face Arkansas at 11 a.m. local time. Ahead of the game, he talked about what differs in early games versus later games and how his team prepares for them.
“I don’t think that any of those games are going to matter in this game, No. 1,” Saban said during the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday. “What we try to emphasize with our players is when your feet hit the ground in the morning, it’s going to be early, you’ve got to be ready to go. It happens quick, pregame meal is early and you’ve got to be ready to go. But it also has a little bit with who you’re playing and I think we’re playing a really good team this week, so it’s going to be a real challenge for us.”
While his team might get an earlier wake up call, Saban doesn’t think anything needs to change, and Alabama will need to be locked in on Saturday to avoid an upset to the Razorbacks.
Arkansas has lost 4-straight games and is certainly looking for an upset over the Tide to change the course of its season, but Saban will have his team ready to go to keep that early-game undefeated streak alive.
