The question LSU coach Nick Saban said the seventh-ranked Tigers face following a victory against a Top 10 opponent in Georgia is whether or not the Tigers can deal with the success they earned.
“You can look at history, you can look at big wins and you can look at a lot of things and there’s two things that can happen,” Saban said at his weekly press luncheon Monday. “You can be relieved by the fact that, hey, we just won a big game, so now we can relax and take it easy and we don’t have to work as hard in practice and prepare as well for the team we play this week or any of that stuff.
“So the most important thing is that players focus and concentrate and have a conviction and a commitment to doing things that we need to do to get better.”
As much as the Georgia game was hyped up and received national attention, Saban said this weekend’s upcoming game is just as important, if not more important, to the progression of the LSU football program and its continued goal of reaching consistency.
“It’s like making an ‘A’ on the test at midterm and then you quit going to class for two weeks,” Saban said. “To me this game is really more important than last week’s game because this is a game we play this week and it’s also a game in our division. And when you don’t have success in your division, you don’t get those games back. So I think it’s a real critical game for us as a team to be able to show some improvement and be able to compete at a high level on the road against what is a very explosive team.”
The explosiveness Saban talked about referred to Mississippi State’s offense, which through three games, is averaging 450.7 total yards of offense per contest, second in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs also score 32.2 yards per game, which is fifth best in the conference.
“Mississippi State is a team that certainly needs to be respected,” Saban said. “They have excellent running backs, outstanding skill people, make a lot of big plays in games and I think it’s a pretty good offensive football team.”
Saban lauded the performance of cornerback Corey Webster against Georgia. Webster, who was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, made the game-clinching interception in the final minute of the win, and stuck with Georgia’s leading receiver Reggie Brown throughout the entire game. He also recorded nine tackles and five pass breakups – all while Webster received an IV treatment during the game.
“No. 1 [Brown] is a good player,” Saban said. “He’s got good size and great speed and Corey did a really, really good job on the guy. We played a lot of man-to-man in the game. Corey has developed into a much better tackler. He plays with more toughness, but he still could improve in that area. But he’s also started to develop some leadership in affecting other people. The one thing he’s always been is a joy to coach, and when you have something to say to him on the field, he runs to you.”
Saban gave examples of the past weekend’s upsets to remind the media and the fans that anything can happen, and all teams must be taken seriously.
“I can give you the scenarios that happen every week,” Saban said. “Toledo beat Pittsburgh, Marshall beat Kansas State and Northern Illinois beat Alabama. So, even though everybody likes to just assume things, that’s not the way it is. That’s not the way it is in college football every week. That’s not the way it is in our league, and I think everybody needs to understand that, including our players.”