BallHype - Latest Nick Saban News Articles

Alabama Beats LSU; The Tide Is Over The Hump and Headed To Atlanta

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 02:42:17 +0000

Alabama beat LSU 24-15 in a game that could only be described as a monumental battle of wills Alabama is the SEC Western Division Champion again and is headed to Atlanta to play the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship game. In a game that seemed more like a war of attrition, Alabama and LSU players were helped off the field on almost every play. That battle was won by Alabama as LSU lost their starting Quarterback, Running Back, two top Linemen, and their best Defensive Back all to injuries Saturday in Bryant-Denny. It seemed as though there was a LSU player laying on the field motionless after almost every big play. The Crimson Tide survived the game with only minor injuries and for the most part seemed to inflict more punishment on the Tigers than they received as the game wore on. The days of teams like LSU overpowering Alabama are over, and tonight showed the nation that Alabama has the talent and depth to play with any team in the country. The win secured Alabama's spot in the ...

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"Finish!" Maybe All Nick Saban's Yelling Paid off For Alabama VS LSU

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:11:29 +0000

What started as an ugly beginning for Alabama turned into a game where the team that could finish the strongest would walk off the field as a winner. It became a game of attrition for LSU with players either limping off or being helped off the grass. For Alabama it became a game of overcoming mistakes and applying more late game heroics. Alabama had to overcome mistakes and there were plenty of them. Greg McElroy missed wide open receivers, Julio Jones continued his string of games with a 'right in your hands' drop and defensive backs slipped, fell and blew coverages. Then there were the costly stupid penalties, like breaking the huddle with 12 men on the field. Alabama was winning the war of total offense but losing the battle of points. Since Nick Saban's arrival there has been one word that Nick Saban has been invoking in every team meeting, one word he yells repeatedly at ever practice and one word that he hopes will epitomize his team at the end of the year. That word is finish. ...

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LIVE: No. 3 Alabama hosts ninth-ranked LSU

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:24:52 +0000

LSU-Alabama isn't about Les Miles vs. Nick Saban any more. The No. 3 Crimson Tide are trying to lock up the SEC West, while No. 9 LSU is out to keep its division hopes alive. Follow it here.

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Alabama-LSU: Who Wants it More?

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 04:00:24 +0000

Let's start this one off with stating that Alabama has not knocked of the LSU Tigers In Bryant-Denny Stadium since 1999. That stat is huge. Last year in Baton Rouge, Nick Saban was able to make his return to Death Valley a sweet one as the Tide knocked off the Tigers in a close over time win. Both squads played their absolute best, and both squads came out with something to be happy about. LSU was not the favorite then, nor will they be this year. It is simply going to be who wants it more. I think that LSU needs it more. This may be their last shot at the BCS title this year. If they let this one slip, so does the title. On the other side of the ball is a team who maybe wants it a little more. Alabama wants it more simply because of revenge. They know that if this one slips there is a chance that their rematch on December 5 in Atlanta with Florida may be gone. That is not what they want. Last season Florida ended Alabama's title hopes in the SEC Championship game. Alabama went in No. 1 and ...

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Top 10 foes Alabama, LSU square off (AP)

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 19:42:43 +0000

When they last met, Alabama vs. LSU was all about Nick Saban coaching against his former team. This year, there's more pressing business: keeping in the mix to play for the national title. Two Top 10 Southeastern Conference teams meet Saturday, with a pair formidable defenses and one Heisman Trophy candidate in a game that might be low on points if not drama.

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What open week means for LSU-Alabama

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:37:11 +0000

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- As the rest of the college football world spun Saturday, Alabama coach Nick Saban sat at a lake house in Georgia, flipping channels. Meanwhile, his players scattered about the country. Quarterback Greg McElroy went home to Dallas. Cornerback Javier Arenas went home to Tampa.

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Buell's Eye: College Football's Week 10 Predictions

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 23:03:10 +0000

Here we are in Week Ten and seven undefeated programs still remain, although, arguably, the best team in the land at the moment may actually be a one loss team that resides in the state of Oregon. While we all know the undefeated trend is doomed to continue, this weeked is one that the majority of the top teams in the land should walk away pretty easily with a victory. Yet, if history serves me right, these same type of weekends notoriously produce the craziest of upsets. Week Nine proved to be good to me, allowing me to go 19-1 and improve my record on the year to 150-36, overall. However, if history truly is an indicator of habits being created, then those unforeseen match-up outcomes are going to catch up to me this week. No worrying on this end, though, as I am only picking two upsets this Saturday out of 22 total weekend games. Begin Slideshow

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Alabama vs. LSU; Nick Saban vs. Les Miles; Polished Team vs. Raw Talent

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 16:44:33 +0000

On Nov. 7, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. EST at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the showdown between the two top football programs in the SEC West will finally take place. It will be Alabama vs. LSU, Nick Saban vs. Les Miles and one of the nation's most polished teams vs. a team that is raw talent. When these two teams meet this Saturday, it will be reminiscent of when the Romans were attacked by the Barbarians almost 2,000 years ago on the northern borders of the Roman Empire. The Roman Legions were the most well-trained and powerful army in the world and the Barbarians were considered the most fierce and savage warriors in the world. Even though the Barbarians were by far more talented fighters as individuals, they were unorganized as a group and made many strategic mistakes in their battles with the Romans. The Romans were well-trained and well-organized and fought as a unit making them a formidable opponent and the most feared army in the world. Looking at the matchup between Alabama ...

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Baby's Losers: Will the Witch of November Raise Her Broom?

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:03:05 +0000

She lays in wait on Lake Superior on the way to Whitefish Bay. Every year, from around October 12 to December 20, The Witch of November will lay waste to shipping and transportation in the Great Lakes area. The November Witch is cold air from Canada, prevented from meeting with the warm air up from the Gulf of Mexico, The result is terrifying weather that can affect not only the inland seas but, conditions ashore. College football teams in the Great Lakes region know when the calendar turns and the days get shorter, they must prepare for a weather experience that can change the course of a game, and eventually, a season. They must prepare themselves for The Witch Of November.. Begin Slideshow

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Is It Too Early for Title Talk for Nick Saban and Alabama?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:06:50 +0000

Is it too early for title talk in Tuscaloosa? Not according to Nick Saban. "I didn't come to Alabama to win eight games and go to a bowl game." Saban told me, "I came here to win Championships." He said that the first few weeks he came to Tuscaloosa, so it's not surprising that he still feels that way now. As this season has progressed Saban's views have not changed. "It's important to set goals as a coach, as a team and as players." Saban explained. "And if your goal isn't to be the best, you're not doing yourself or your fans any favors." "Will we always be the best? Of course not. But is that the goal you should shoot for? Of course it is and you get there by making the commitment to get just a little better every day, every practice and every game." he continued. "For coaches that means bringing in the best possible talent to fill the holes that come from graduation and injury, to providing that athlete the opportunity to be his best with good coaching, instruction and guidelines to ...

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Nick and Terry Saban Prove You Can Mix Pleasure and Work

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:06:59 +0000

For at least one more week, Nick Saban is on top of the football world. He is leading an undefeated team into the end of the schedule and a chance to play for a BCS Championship. He also has an adoring wife who was clearly enjoying the moment with him this past Saturday. Looking around at the beginning of the press conference, I noticed Terry Saban watching her husband start his talk to the assembled media and the look on her face was instantly recognizable to an old romantic. She was smiling at him with that look of a girl who was going home with the hero of the moment, not just Alabama's hero, but her hero. She was as happy and excited with the win as any of us in the room, but there was so much more. She was enjoying sharing this moment with him. Once I knew where Terry had positioned herself against the right wall, I could see Nick's eyes go to her and even when describing the team's mistakes of that game, there was that hint of a smile when he looked at her. Sometimes work tears couples ...

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For Alabama It's The Mad Hatter / Kissing Bandit Next and His LSU Tigers

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:21:47 +0000

Look at the picture and I guess LSU should invoke a don't ask don't tell policy over why the coaches and players love Les Miles so much. That aside, the Cajun Kisser brings his boys to Tuscaloosa for a little old fashioned revenge and a chance to play in the BCS Championship Game. A one loss SEC team still has a good shot at getting in and Les Miles knows it. However, the only kissing by LSU after this game with the Crimson Tide will be Les kissing Nick Saban's bottom one more time. If Les didn't like the outcome of the Florida-LSU game, he won't like this one. LSU only scored one field goal against the Gators and Alabama has a defense that will likewise shut them down. Yes Alabama has redzone problems right now, but two weeks off to work on it and a weeks worth of good rest will make all the difference. Alabama will simply take another top 10 team and drop them back to the also-ran status. It's not being condescending, it's being realistic. Jordan Jefferson is not the man who can knock ...

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Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium, If We Build It They Will Come

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:45:56 +0000

Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium will be expanding again in 2010. What began as a 12,000 seat stadium in 1929 under coach Wallace Wade has grown over the years to its present seating capacity of 92,138 is under construction again. Bryant-Denny's south end zone will be enclosed by adding more than 10,000 additional seats. This will bring the seating capacity to approximately 101,000, making it among the largest on-campus football stadiums in the nation. The expansion is shown in the artist rendition above. What has happened to cause all of this to take place? There are many reasons for all the expansions, but the two main reasons are athletic director, Mal Moore, and Alabama's head coach Nick Saban. In the past 10 years Moore has been instrumental in Bryant-Denny Stadium's expansion, including all the improvements in and around Bryant-Denny and The Walk of Champions. Moore was also instrumental in bringing Nick Saban to Alabama. The hiring of Nick Saban has assured that all those 100,000 plus ...

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Warning, Warning!: College Football Computer Rankings Are Dangerous to the BCS

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:34:07 +0000

You know the storyline. An invading alien threatens to eliminate the space family Robinson. To protect the family, the computerized Robot waves his arms wildly and states " warning, warning, danger." Maybe the BCS should be advised of the threat to their world. The Bowl Championship Series is the select province of the well to do football schools. A quick review of the teams invited since its inception in 1998 reads like a who's who in gridiron history. According to the latest "non-biased" Elo-Chess rankings prepared by computer Guru Jeff Sagarin, the No. 1 team in the land is a real surprise. The scary thought to the BCS Bowls is the Elo-Chess ranking system is used by the BCS to help determine the final placement of teams in the poll. If sponsors have to "ante-up" for some of these matches in their precious advertising venues, we may find a change to the system before next season. Who are the other schools listed in this computer poll? Let's look at the "11 Best 11s" as of the final week in ...

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Nick Saban and The Intimidation Factor

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:06:58 +0000

Following Saturday's tension filled, roller-coaster-of-emotion game with Tennessee, the Alabama fans were wild with excitement. The Vol players and fans were dejected at coming oh-so-close. And as a new reporter, I was just trying to record the emotions the players coming off the field . I had watched those final few minutes on the sidelines with the players. I watched so many different emotions that so many players could present. Some couldn't bear to watch the final field goal attempt that would have cost them the game. Some were yelling what sounded like primal screams from the top of their lungs. And one loud voice rang out, "One more time Cody! One more time!" And that's just what happened. Call it sheer will. Call it destiny. Call it the moment everyone may look back on if Alabama does indeed make it to the national championship game this year. But call it a win. As I recorded the faces of the players coming off the field, I recorded Nick Saban and saw a face I did not expect. I ...

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