On Saturday, September 5, Alabama is set to take on Wisconsin in the most anticipated matchup of college football’s opening weekend. Alabama head coach Nick Saban took some time at his press conference Monday to talk about the upcoming matchup against the Badgers.
“This is obviously a very, very good team that we’re playing,” Saban said Monday. “They won 11 games last year. They’ve [returned] a significant amount of starters, they have their quarterback (Joel Stave) back, they have a very good runner (Corey Clement) — even though he wasn’t their star, he gained almost 1,000 yards a year ago, a couple offensive lineman, good tight ends.”
Saban understands that Wisconsin is not to be taken lightly, and will need a complete team effort to win.
“[Wisconsin is] a very good defensive team, one of the top defensive teams in the country. They’re very well coached, they execute and do a very good job of playing together on defense. They play with a tremendous amount of toughness and really play with a lot of energy and effort. We’re going to really have to do a good job against them. This is a really good team.”
After losing star running back Melvin Gordon to the NFL, New Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst will have to adjust appropriately to maintain their offensive prowess after being ranked 3rd in the nation in rushing offense last year. Saban, however, isn’t worried about Chryst.
“Paul Chryst, I have tremendous amount of respect for him as a head coach,” Saban stated. “Thought he did a fabulous job at Pitt. He’s a very good offensive coach and did a great job at Wisconsin when he was there before.
“This team has always been a very strong running team, but I think Paul is a guy who’s been able to create balance with what he does, has a good pro background, and is a very good developer of quarterbacks. I think his touch will be something that we’ll definitely see with what he does with Wisconsin’s offense.”
This marquee matchup will kick off at 8:14 p.m. ET Saturday at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
