Ad Disclosure
Alabama is coming off its bye week, but Nick Saban provided another gem in his press conference Monday.
The Crimson Tide are 8-0 and preparing for a matchup with LSU. The Tide have looked dominant all season, but the No. 19 Tigers will probably be the biggest test yet for Saban and company.
The Tigers have turned things around since an inexplicable home loss to Troy earlier this season. Saban says he has seen a much improved team since that loss, and that loss to the Trojans has been bad news for other SEC teams:
“Worst thing that happened to all of us in the SEC is when LSU lost to Troy,” said Saban.
The main highlight of his press conference came when someone asked about the upcoming College Football Playoff rankings. Alabama will likely be No. 1, but Saban made it clear that he is not interested in any of that right now:
“I could care less about a poll,” said Saban. “What significance does that have right now? I’m focused on the next four games, I could care less about the poll. You won’t see me wasting any time watching tv or watching who’s No. 1, who’s No. 2, and it really doesn’t matter. What matters is how you play the rest of the season…if our players think anything of it, then that could be a problem and an issue too.”
Saban reiterated that the Playoff rankings are something he doesn’t want anyone to focus on:
“These are the things that we try to categorize as ‘poison’ that you really don’t want your players to be focused on,” explained Saban, “But I appreciate you asking so I could get this off my chest.”
Saturday’s kickoff against LSU is set for 8 pm EST on CBS. You can watch the initial rankings show for the Playoff Tuesday at 7 pm EST on ESPN.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
