Alabama Football: With Less Than a Week Left, Who Is Bama Preparing For?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)

I'm sure Alabama will go through the motions of getting the team back in the habit of preparing for a weekly opponent by watching some film on this week's opponent, but who are they really preparing for this week?

Is it really San Jose State or Penn State that is on the minds of the players and coaches this week?

Saban and his players all respect Joe Paterno, and there is no doubt in any player's mind that though they are down this year talent-wise, that they won't come to Tuscaloosa ready for battle, focused, and with upset on their minds.

"Sometimes a team is most dangerous when they think they're being discounted by the press and opposing teams," Nick Saban said once on the subject of such contests.

And Penn State plays all their home games in a 100,000-plus seat stadium, so they won't be intimidated in the least.

Recently in the ESPN special, "Training Days," Nick Saban was caught yelling to the team that he has already learned Penn State has a locker room full of Alabama on the walls and told his team if they weren't giving 100 percent that Penn State sure was.

So you can count on Alabama to not tip their hand with anything but vanilla offensive plays and simple muscle defense on the other side. After all, why give Penn State anything to work on that they may use against them.

Now some players like Dont'a Hightower will watch the San Jose film and look for exploitable weaknesses. He learned the importance of that from his "big brother" Rolando McClain, now in the NFL.

And Greg McElroy is another who has learned to love the films and may be looking for ways to show his arm a bit and give Penn State something else to worry about other than a trio of running backs that are the class act of college football.

But it wouldn't surprise many that the cornerbacks are studying Penn State's receivers as much this week as San Jose State's, or that the receiving corps is doing much of the same thing.

This is truly a game that Saban could sit out the entire first team if he wanted to and still win, so why go to that much bother on San Jose State?

Much could be said about the third game as well, when Alabama plays Duke just prior to opening the SEC schedule against the Ryan Mallet air show in Arkansas.

But if you listen to Saban, he will say you focus on one game at a time and never overlook an opponent no matter what, even if you are Alabama and they are San Jose State.

And though I'm sure that's what he's telling the players, I'll bet in private he's sneaking a peek at some Penn State films this week.