"105,000 people trying to get in the middle": Nick Saban reveals his tough coaching style and warns Alabama players of loud Texas A&M fans
Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Texas A&M Aggies, who are led by his offensive coordinator of five years, Jimbo Fisher, in Week 6 of the NCAA football season. During a recent appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show", the Crimson Tide coach revealed that he coaches his players hard because of road matchups such as their visit to Texas A&M, which he expects to be very loud.
Mike Rodak of 247 Sports shared his comments, tweeting:
"Nick Saban on @PatMcAfeeShow: "At times, I've got to admit, I coach them hard. But most of them got used to it. I tell them – I say, 'Look, when we play, just like this week, when we play at Texas A&M, there's going to be 105,000 people trying to get in the middle of your stuff. If you can't take me getting in the middle of your stuff, we got a problem."
Check out Mike Rodak's tweet sharing Nick Saban's comments here.
Kyle Field, the home of the Aggies, is the sixth-largest stadium in the world, the fourth-largest in college football and the largest in the SEC. The two programs have met 15 times in their history, with the Crimson Tide winning 12 of those matchups. Furthermore, Alabama has won five of six meetings at Kyle Field.
Will Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide miss the College Football Playoff in consecutive seasons for the first time?
The Alabama Crimson Tide has never missed the College Football Playoff in consecutive seasons since the inception of the format in 2014. In nine seasons, coach Saban's program has made seven appearances in the postseason, six appearances in the College Football Playoff Championship Game and won three titles, all of which are the most in college football.
Despite this, an early season loss to the Texas Longhorns has put Alabama in danger of missing the postseason for the second straight season. There has never been a two-loss team to reach the College Football Playoff since its inception.
While that will likely change next season as the format changes from four teams making the postseason to 12, Alabama will likely need to win out to reach the College Football Playoff.
The remainder of their schedule features a tough SEC slate, which includes three opponents that are currently ranked. If they are able to escape the regular season without another loss, Alabama will likely need to defeat the defending back-to-back national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs, in the SEC Championship Game.