Saturday night in Death Valley. Perhaps the best environment in college football if not all sports. 

That’s what the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide is up against as it travels to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on the No. 10 LSU Tigers. 

It seems like more often than not, both the Crimson Tide and the Tigers are ranked inside the top-10 when they face off in early November each year. But this time around, LSU has been a major surprise in the SEC West. 

After starting the season 3-2 with an opening week loss to Florida State and a 27-point loss to the No. 1 Tennessee, the Tigers have won back-to-back games over Florida and No. 11 Ole Miss — finding themselves in the top-10 with less than a month to go in the season. In turn, LSU has a shot at making the SEC Championship if it can take down Alabama on Saturday night. 

“Brian Kelly has done an outstanding job there of bringing this team along, improving each week,” Saban said. 

That’s where the Crimson Tide comes in. Following its own loss to the top-ranked Volunteers in Knoxville, Alabama dropped Mississippi State 30-6 and then had an off week. Over the next two weeks, the Crimson Tide faces the best the SEC West has to offer in the Tigers and Ole Miss — both on the road. If Alabama can take down LSU, it will be one step closer to an SEC Championship berth in Atlanta, Georgia, come Dec. 3. 

“We had a good work week last week,” Saban said. “Really tried to emphasize with the players what are you going to attach yourself to for the upcoming challenges of the season.” 

“We understand with this final stretch of games coming up, we have to be better than ever,” quarterback Bryce Young said. “Having a bye to refresh yourself and us coming in with that mindset, I think that helps a lot.” 

Saban believes the bye week can have both positives and negatives. 

“People always assume a bye week is a good thing, but you never know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing until you go through it, see what you get done, see how you improve, see how your players respond,” Saban said. “That’s what we’re anxious to see this weekend.” 

The Crimson Tide struggled with transfer quarterback Hendon Hooker three weeks ago in Knoxville. Saturday, it will have to deal with another dangerous transfer quarterback in the Tigers’ Jayden Daniels. 

After a strong three-year career at Arizona State, Daniels came to Baton Rouge and won the job — and now has the keys to an offense looking to knock off Alabama. 

Saban understands the challenges he creates. 

“I think Jayden’s going to be a huge problem for us this weekend, being able to scheme up for him and being able to tackle him in space,” Saban said. “But I’m super excited about [facing] him.” 

Speaking of transfers, the Crimson Tide has a transfer of its own that will be tasked with stopping Daniels, and he played at LSU. 

Cornerback Eli Ricks, after a stellar performance against Mississippi State, is presumed to be a starter going forward. Ricks had a tremendous 2020 season for the Tigers, racking up the awards. He was named to the Freshman All-American team as well as second-team All-SEC. He is stepping into an important role after being a non-factor on the Alabama defense for much of the season. 

“Eli just had to go through a lot of transitions here,” Saban said. “We always thought he could be a really good player. I thought he played well in the last game. Hopefully, he’ll be able to build on that.” 

The now 71-year-old Saban, who’s made a career from winning, thinks it is a choice — not a character trait. 

“Nobody got created a winner, nobody got created a loser,” Saban said. “I think we all got created as choosers. If we can attach ourselves to the right things and keep choosing the right things as a team. I think that’s the kind of effort that we’re going to need here down the stretch.” 

Saturday will mark the eighth time Saban will walk into Tiger Stadium as the head coach of the Crimson Tide after coaching the Tigers from 2000-2004 and winning a national championship in 2003. He is 6-1 in Baton Rouge with Alabama. 

Kickoff is set for Saturday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN. 

“We can’t beat ourselves,” Saban said. “We’ve got to have enough poise to be able to execute in this environment.” 

“Our players have done a good job this week,” he said. “It’s a big challenge for us. This is when you find out what you’re all about when you play in games like this on the road. I’m excited about it. I’m excited for the opportunity our team has. We’re going to go for it.” 

Questions or comments? Email Austin Hannon (Sports Editor) at [email protected]