Nick Saban Says Positive Media Coverage Is Like 'Rat Poison' to Alabama Players

Alabama head coach Nick Saban compared the positive media coverage of his team after Alabama's tight 27-19 win over Texas A&M on Saturday to rat poison.

"I'm trying to get our players to listen to me instead of you guys," Saban said in his postgame press conference. "All that stuff you write about how good we are? All that stuff they hear on ESPN? It's like poison. Like rat poison."

Saban continued in the same vein when asked about the inability of the Crimson Tide offense to get a first down on three of its first four drives.

"I'm asking them, 'Are you going to listen to me or are you going to listen to these guys about how good you are?' Just like your question right now," he noted. "We get stopped three out of four times, like that's a bad thing. We're not going to beat everybody 66-3."

Alabama had been nothing short of dominant coming into Saturday's close call, however, coming off a 59-0 win against Vanderbilt and a 66-3 thumping of Ole Miss in the past two weeks. And the Crimson Tide appeared to be in cruise control against the Aggies, leading 24-3 in the third quarter before Texas A&M came storming back.

There aren't many easy weeks in the SEC, but Alabama looks poised to head into this season's Iron Bowl in late November against Auburn undefeated. While Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State might have something to say about that, the Crimson Tide will be favored in every game.

Which surely will earn the continued chagrin of Saban.