Nick Saban compared this season to climbing a mountain in Monday’s press conference.
“If there are 12 steps on the ladder, we’re on 11,” Saban said. “We had, obviously, one step break on us. We haven’t played all perfect games, and we certainly didn’t play a perfect game last week.
“The top of the mountain is obviously the pinnacle of success that we all strive for. We’re not there yet. We’ve certainly put ourselves in a position to have an opportunity to get there. I certainly want the players to enjoy the opportunity that they’ve created for themselves by continuing to play really good football and feeling good about the way they compete in a game.”
Saban said the team needs to focus on execution this week in practice, especially offensively in preparation for Friday’s game against Arkansas. LSU quarterback Matt Mauck threw three interceptions in the game, one of which Ole Miss returned for the game’s first touchdown.
“I think the thing we want to focus on this week is making some technical improvements in some of the things that we didn’t execute very well in the game,” Saban said. “Particularly offensively, I felt like we made a lot of mental errors in the game.”
Saban said the game against Ole Miss gave the Tigers the opportunity to play in a close game and succeed – something that has been rare this season.
“I think it’s interesting to see us to go into the two minutes and have to compete in a situation like that on defense,” Saban said. “You can say what you want about the quarterback falling down, but the guy going through the ‘A’ gap penetrating the pocket had something to do with that. You like to see your team respond and react in situations like that. It’s good the players understand what it takes to win close games.”
On special teams, Saban commended Eric Alexander, Adrian Mayes, Bennie Brazell and Donnie Jones for their performance against Ole Miss. Justin Vincent and Eric Alexander received offensive honors.
Chad Lavalais was named the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the week for the second time this month. But Saban said he was impressed with the way the entire defense played as a unit.
“I know Chad Lavalais had a great game and was the SEC player of the week,” Saban said. “But as a coach, it was hard not to just give the entire defense the award. I thought the front people did a good job of stopping the run, pressured the quarterback [and] affected him in the game. We probably had more broken up passes and good coverage in this game than we’ve had in any game I can remember.”
The victory against Ole Miss coupled with Ohio State’s loss to Michigan moved the Tigers up to No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series rankings on Monday behind Oklahoma and USC. Saban called the BCS a distraction to the players and said the team has done a good job of playing the game.
“I think sometimes when you start thinking about all that other stuff, it just kind of clutters,” Saban said. “That can affect your ability to prepare, focus and have the kind of poise and discipline you need to be able to do the things you need to do well in a game to have success.”
When asked whether he thought the BCS was the best way to determine the best team in the country, Saban said it as good as it can be right now. But Saban mentioned his desire for a playoff system.
“I think the bowl system as we have it is important to college football,” Saban said. “I’ve also said that if we have a two-team or a four-team playoff after the current bowl system, that is something that I would be more in favor of. I think bowl games give a lot of schools, a lot of fans, a lot of players opportunities to get some positive self-gratification for what they’ve accomplished in their season. Short of having a playoff system, there’s always going to be, from a subjective standpoint, some area to criticize relative to how we pick the best team.”
Last season, LSU needed to beat Arkansas to win the SEC West and advance to the SEC Championship. The script is the same for the Tigers this season. Saban said in order to win the game, the Tigers will need to bring their best effort.
“Last year, we’re ahead 17-7 and the last five minutes in the game they score twice,” Saban said. “I think it was a tough loss for everybody. I think guys remember that. But I don’t think it’s going to be the sole motivating factor for the players and the competition.
“Arkansas is an outstanding
football team. [They] had some
great wins early in the season, beating Texas. They’ve won four games in a row right now. Right now, they seem to be playing as well as they’ve played all year.”