Alabama Football: As Schedule Lightens, Nick Saban's Mood Will Darken

The early season gauntlet of opponents did not provide any surprises or speed bumps for the Alabama Crimson Tide, a team trying to stay focused on the road to another SEC West Division title.

The journey to Happy Valley and the subsequent victory over Penn State was, without question, a test of McCarron's ability to handle adversity in a hostile environment. He did well on that exam, much to the satisfaction of Alabama fans and the coaching staff. 

AJ McCarron is an exceptional quarterback for the Crimson Tide, but he has yet to show greatness on the field of play. He is a first-year starter, a player three years into his football education at the University of Alabama.

Greatness may come, but it probably will not matter in the long run. He is good enough to lead this team and get the job done for head coach Nick Saban.

At times, Saban has shown anxiety toward the young quarterback in the heat of battle.

Against the Florida Gators (another tough road test for the Crimson Tide), Saban had to settle McCarron down and get him to focus on the task at hand. Too much adrenaline is not a good thing on the field of play.

He did the same with RS freshman Johnovan Fulton after a special teams incident that nearly resulted in a turnover. Saban ran onto the field to get in Fulton's face and get him off the field before a flag was thrown.

Saban wasn't mad—he was intense and intensely instructive to his pupils. His message is simple but extremely difficult to achieve through every moment on the field: "Stay focused, don't do anything that thwarts you from achieving success in attaining a primary or secondary goal."

Interestingly, Saban was remarkably calm after the first offensive play for the Florida Gators that resulted in a touchdown against the Tide. The score was the result of a perfectly thrown pass from John Brantley to a little-known receiver by the name of Andre DeBose (little known until now, that is).

DeBose ran a perfectly executed route one-on-one against Alabama's toughest cover-cornerback, Dre Kirkpatrick, who had no help from safety Robert Lester due to perfectly executed play action by the quarterback and running back.

The play was run to perfection. Dre was smoked, and Florida led 7-0 after one play.

But this is Dre's third year in the system, and he understands the process. Move onto the next play. No memory of the past, no shame—just win the next battle.

Over a period of 60 minutes and 60-80 plays, dominate your opponent and do your job. Nick Saban has seen how Dre has responded in the past—he knew that his prized pupil would settle down and win the next play. That's exactly what happened.

Time and time again, Charlie Weis and his playbook sent the action toward Dre Kirkpatrick in order to hit Alabama's strongest position player in the mouth and cause him to lose confidence in his ability. Weis was trying to attack Alabama at its strongest point!

But Kirkpatrick's time in the process has paid great dividends for the future All-American. He stood his ground and won play after play against the Florida receivers and running backs.

Ultimately, he helped lead his team to victory on the road in one of the most hostile environments in college football.

That's really the message Saban is preaching, but sometimes it's hard to translate into words for the younger athletes. It's even harder to put those lessons into action with so much going on at such a fast pace.

But the more experience in the heat of the moment, the easier it is for the quarterback and his teammates to see what it is that the master is trying to teach. Do your best. Stay focused on your goals. Don't be distracted by clutter.

Because of the fact that some of those lessons haven't quite sunk in for the younger, inexperienced players, Saban is about to turn up the intensity a notch or two over the next few weeks.

Like the amplifiers used by the band Spinal Tap, Saban's amps go to 11! "Just a bit louder."

With Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Ole Miss on the docket in the following weeks, there is no place for complacency. The Alabama players will let their guard down just because the media does not consider these teams worthy opponents for the Crimson Tide. The media provides clutter—a nemesis to the mind.

Photographs of the La-Monroe game will be posted in the locker room this week. As Saban has stated in the past, the loss in 2007 was the most embarrassing loss of his coaching career. And that is not meant as disrespect toward La-Monroe.

It was then—and will always remain—a judgment of the lack of preparedness by the coaching staff and players at that time to allow such folly to occur. For Saban, it was a lesson learned, and a lesson he will impart to every class of football students he will teach at the University of Alabama as long as he remains head football coach.

If Alabama loses a game in the next three weeks, it won't be for lack of preparedness by the coaching staff. And it won't be from lack of motivation to succeed by the players. If they lose, it will be due to the opposition's performance against the best Alabama can offer.

That is what Saban wants every time Alabama Crimson Tide steps onto the field—play your best. If you get beat at the end of the day, there will be no need to hang your head. In fact, the proper response is to go across the field and shake the hand of the players that bested your efforts.

Every competitor wants to win, and they  deserve your respect. Respect for an opponent—every opponent—is what Saban will preach this week.

When you respect your opponent, your efforts will be the best you can deliver on that day. That is all you can expect.