With 17 Days Before Michigan Clash, How Are Nick Saban & Co. Preparing to Emerge Victorious?

The Michigan Wolverines will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in one of the grandest stages of the college football league, the Rose Bowl. In what can only be termed a battle of the giants, both teams are currently preparing heavily for the game, which will be held on January 2.

Both teams have had one of their best seasons this year. While Michigan stands on an unbeatable 13-0 record, Alabama isn’t too far behind with its impressive tally of 12-1. The match is set to occur in over 17 days, and this is how Alabama coach Nick Saban is preparing his team for their biggest challenge yet.

Nick Saban and his team’s preparation for the Rose Bowl victory

On the latest episode of the Pat McAfee show, Nick Saban was invited to talk about the team’s training methods before the match against Michigan in Pasadena. Saban talked about how the team has distributed their days according to the required training.

Saban said, “First three days of practices are sort of like fundamental camp practices, where we try to get guys back in the groove. One of the big things in bowl games, especially when you had some time off is getting the techniques right. And then after three days then we’ll go through a regular week here and do the same thing once we get out there.” Moreover, he also emphasized the importance of making sure the newer guys on the team also get to train with the regular team in case they ever need to be put on the field.

It will be crucial for the Alabama team to rely on their defensive maneuvers, as J.J. McCarthy of the Wolverines is known to tear through teams’ defenses. He’s the star quarterback of the Michigan side, and Saban will have to ensure that the players complete all the right drills to be better prepared for the men in yellow.

Nick Saban talks about the importance of the team’s strength coaches

McAfee posed a question to the veteran coach about how important the strength coaches are to the team, as they’re the ones who stay with the players the most. Saban rightfully agreed and went on to appreciate the value of these coaches who help the team secure their wins.

Saban responded by saying, “Those guys are really managing our team from a psychological disposition standpoint, work ethic standpoint, discipline to do things the right way. And they’re with them more than maybe the coaches are especially in the offseason.” After that, McAfee retold a story about his time with Mike Barwis and how he would make him work out in the gym strenuously, but he knew Barwis did it with all the right intentions.

Alabama’s offensive attack hasn’t been the best recently. During the match between Alabama and Arkansas, Jalen Milroe, the quarterback, failed to rise to the challenge in the last two quarters and could only complete three out of eleven attempts for a poor 28 yards. Even though the match ended in favor of Alabama, it was a close call that could’ve ended their CFP run. Thus, in my opinion, Alabama’s weak offense will most probably cause their loss against Michigan unless they try to fill all the gaps in the team’s gameplay. But with all that said, here’s why Saban thinks that the Rose Bowl is a “one-game season.”

Why does Nick Saban think of the Rose Bowl as a “one-game season?”

Nick Saban is obviously quite confident in his players’ abilities to draw in the Rose Bowl win. But with his logic behind the bowl game being a “one-game season,” it looks like he has found an effective way to better train the players for the grandaddy of all games.

Saban talked, in detail, about his preparatory method and said, “When we adopted the philosophy that you know it’s more like a one game season and look at it that way and just let the players work on their own for a couple weeks. But when you start practicing for the game and have those 11 or 12 practices to get ready to go and I think psychologically it’s a lot better for players because I actually do think you can practice too much and you can practice too long for the same opponent.” As such, the 72-year-old coach believes that he doesn’t want to train the team too much for an opponent as it might lead to paralysis by over-analysis.

But if you ask me, the Crimson team can’t prepare enough for the mighty Wolverines that will come knocking soon. I think that Michigan will end up securing the win against Alabama and retaining its reputation as the top team in the league. But then again, the Alabama Crimson Tide is an underdog in this matchup, and thus, there’s no telling what they have planned for the ultimate showdown.

Read more: Michigan or Alabama- Who Is the Favorite to Win the Rose Bowl Game as per Historical Data?

Will it be Michigan or Alabama that lifts the Rose Bowl trophy? Let us know in the comments below.

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