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The Alabama Crimson Tide host Chattanooga at home this Saturday as Alabama looks to extend their winning streak to 9.
Playing Alabama Football
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban discussed how his team needs to respect every opponent they face. He talked about Chattanooga’s elite offense and pestering defense and how Alabama must prepare differently for every team.
Alabama struggled with underestimating teams early on this season with multiple games that came down to the wire against unranked opponents. However, their matchups against ranked teams have a tendency to be won by bigger margins. Their (49-21) win over unranked Kentucky shows the mentality that Alabama has coming into this matchup. The Crimson Tide are treating every game with same level of urgency and importance.
Last Matchup
Last time the Crimson Tide faced off against Chattanooga, Chattanooga was the first team on the board. Headed into the second quarter, Chattanooga has a (3-0) lead which was short-lived. Alabama answered back with 31 unanswered points ending the game 31-3.
Although Chattanooga is projected to be one of Alabama’s easier matchups this season, Coach Saban isn’t taking any chances. He said that it is difficult to keep everyone focused on the next game. Especially, when Alabama’s biggest challenges await with a matchup against Georgia in a couple of weeks. But, he does feel that his message has gotten across to his players and that they have respect for a tough Chattanooga team.
Progression Throughout the Season
This Alabama team has evolved a lot throughout the season. In typical fashion, the Crimson Tide were ranked fairly high coming into the season. However, an early matchup against the Texas Longhorns proved to be too difficult for the Crimson Tide in game 2 of the season. This early loss served as a wakeup call as the Crimson Tide has yet to lose a game since.
Coach Saban cited not just the team’s resiliency, but the resiliency of each individual on the roster. Their strive and dedication to improve everyday and outwork everyone is what has granted them their success.
