“The comfort in this last game, the toughness that we played with, the physical nature of the way we manned the ball game and tackled, all those things are real positive energy type things that we want to build on,” Saban said. “It is really time to turn the page on this last game and turn our attention to Tennessee.”
The Crimson Tide will travel to Knoxville this weekend for a matchup with Tennessee. The Butch Jones-led Volunteers are 3-4 this season and still winless in the SEC but have come close to beating both Georgia and Florida, losing by three points and one point, respectively.
“Tennessee, I think, has a much improved team in a lot of ways,” Saban said. “In a lot of ways they could be 5-2 very easily. It starts with the fact they have very good skill players and a very good quarterback. Defensively they are much improved, almost 100 less per game than a year ago.”
The game will also mark Lane Kiffin’s return to Knoxville, where he coached for one year before taking the head coaching job at USC. Kiffin is in his first year as the offensive coordinator at Alabama.
“I think it is only a distraction if you allow it to be a distraction,” Saban said. “If we can stay focused on what we need to do to do what is best for our team then I think that is the way you manage it and that is the way you handle it and that is the way you need to look at it.”
