Following LSU’s 59-13 mauling of Arizona Saturday, football coach Nick Saban said people should realize the Tigers’ next opponent, Western Illinois, is a good team despite its Division 1-AA standing.
WIU ranks No. 1 in the most recent USA Today/ESPN polls in Divison-1AA, and have experienced a fair amount of success against Division-1A schools. The Leathernecks defeated Division-IA opponents Northern Illinois twice and Ball State in the last four years.
“All I can say about (WIU) is they have beaten three Division I opponents in the last couple of years,” Saban said Monday in his weekly press luncheon. “They have an outstanding quarterback, they have not given up a touchdown on defense this year, they have three All-Americans playing on defense, they have a good young runner and they play hard and are very well coached.”
The Tigers host WIU Saturday at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
Saban said Division-IAA teams need to be regarded with the same respect as any other team.
“Just because a team is 1-AA doesn’t mean that they don’t have football players that need to be respected and regarded and prepared for just like any other team,” Saban said. “Especially when they can beat 1-A schools. I think this is an opportunity for our team to show they can play with consistency as well as make improvements as a football team.”
In regards to the Arizona game, Saban said even though the performance of the Tigers was good, there is plenty of room for improvements.
“There are things that we need to do better,” Saban said. “There is the turnover situation, and we got some critical penalties late in the game that are unforgiving in terms of a lack-of-discipline-type penalties that we would rather not have. Defensively, our perimeter defense had a couple runs bounce out on us for big plays, so we need to keep better leverage on the ball and have better tackling on the perimeter.”
Saban said playing as a favorite is something that players must learn to do over time.
“Like I’ve said to the players before, maybe most people are average,” Saban said. “But if you are really going to be good, you can’t be that way. You can’t be motivated by catastrophe and wait for something bad to happen to get motivated. You have to have a high standard of what you want to accomplish and work towards that all the time.”