The only thing head coach Nick Saban hates more than “rat poison” (aka positive compliments) is looking past opponents.
“Trap games” are a very real thing … No matter how many times a team gets caught “looking ahead” to a seemingly tougher foe, only to lose to the lesser one, it’s something that just keeps on happening over and over and over again.
To his credit, Saban will have absolutely none of that.
He doesn’t tolerate it out of his players or coaches … And he sure as hell doesn’t tolerate it out of his lovely wife, Terry.
During a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Saban told a story of his wife getting a little too ahead of herself.
“I’ve got to straighten her out this week with relief syndrome too,” Saban said, referring to his wife’s own struggles with anticipating future obstacles.
Describing a conversation with his wife, Saban shared: “I wake up on Sunday morning. She looks at me and says, ‘Man, it’s gonna be hard playing at Auburn.'”
Saban immediately snapped back: “We’ve got to play Kentucky this week (49-21 win). Then Chattanooga the next week. We’re worried about that when we get to that. Why are you thinking about that? You’ve got relief syndrome.”
"I woke up on Sunday morning and Miss Terry said it's gonna be hard playing at Auburn..
I said are you kidding me we're playing Kentucky this week and we gotta focus on what's in front of us" ~ Coach Saban
That is AWESOME 😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/52QJAf6ReZ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 9, 2023
Saban emphasized that he doesn’t want his team falling into the same trap, cautioning against premature concerns about the highly anticipated Iron Bowl against their hated in-state rivals.
Truth be told, with the way Auburn has played this season, he probably has to guard against looking past the Tigers as well.
Strange things happen in the Iron Bowl … No one knows that better than Saban.
Countdown to Kickoff! 2 Days!
Auburn vs Alabama 2013 (Kick six) #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/qUJQRvnyad— Johnnyknox07 (@johnnyknox07_) August 31, 2023
Regardless, what do you make of this Alabama team?
They’re not as sexy as some of the past Tide teams, so they’ve miraculously managed to fly somewhat under the radar.
However, now at 9-1 they’re playing their best football of the season and seem to be growing by leaps and bounds each and every week.Â
Will they beat Georgia in the SEC championship game?
Are they legitimate national title contenders???