Alabama’s Head Football Coach Nick Saban discussed how this weekend’s game against LSU is the most challenging part of the Crimson Tide’s season.
“Probably the worst thing that could have happened to all of us in the SEC is when they [LSU] lost to Troy,” Saban said in a press conference on Monday.
The Troy loss served as a much needed wake up call to the LSU football team and initiated a “comeback” for the Tigers.
Since LSU’s loss to Troy, the Tigers have won three consecutive conference games against Florida, Auburn and Ole Miss.
“They have been very productive since that time, and are playing really well as a team,” Saban said.
Saban recognizes that the match up between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers has become a huge rivalry since his own departure from LSU in 2004. 
“Since 2007, both teams have been ranked in the Top 20 in each one of the games that we’ve played,” Saban remarked.
One key difference this year is that Alabama is ranked No. 2 going into the game, as opposed to their typical No. 1 ranking.
It will be interesting to see if the recent change in rank affects the Alabama players and the predicted outcome of the game this Saturday.