Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Saban says ASU good prep for SEC
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban had plenty of praise for Arkansas State University.
Saban is approaching today’s 2:30 p.m. contest against the Red Wolves as a stiff test, saying Arkansas State is unlike any other walk-in-the-park, unranked, nonconference foe for the Tide.
The Crimson Tide have improvements to make, he told reporters earlier this week. He also said there’s still confusion lingering around his two-headed quarterback situation where two capable men — starter Tua Tagovailoa and former starter Jalen Hurts — combine for one of the nation’s best QB tandems.
But Arkansas State presents plenty of challenges for Alabama, as Saban explained in a few statements earlier this week related to the Red Wolves.
“This is a really wellcoached team on defense,” he said. “They play physical, very tough on defense and are [fundamentally] sound at what they do.
“I think they’re somewhere up there, close to No. 1 in pass offense. They do a great job of spreading the field.”
Arkansas State’s uptempo, Spread offense provides a chance for the Tide to test themselves against a threatening pass-happy offense. Offenses akin to the Red Wolves’ are on the Tide’s SEC schedule.
After Week 1, the Red Wolves led all schools in passing yardage per game with 497 after a 48-21 dismantling of Southeast Missouri State at Centennial Bank Stadium last Saturday. Senior quarterback Justice Hansen’s six touchdown passes, ASU’s new school record, on 79 total plays shined light on the danger ASU’s offense presents to Saban’s defense.
“This team does do a lot of things that we’ll see in the future in terms of spreading the field, having four wideouts, run the ball, throw the ball, and do a great job with the screen game,” Saban said. “This is definitely a team that there will be some carry over in the future as to what we have to play against. They’re in the top five in the country in plays run in a game.
“They’re going to go fast, really, really fast. That’s something that’s really hard to practice and something that we’re going to need to do a better job of the rest of the week trying to get our players ready for it.”
Although ASU sported one of the most productive passing performances during the season’s opening weekend, there was much to fix.
Last Saturday’s version of the Red Wolves would not have defeated the Tide, ASU Coach Blake Anderson said.
“This whole focus has been on us improving,” he said. “We didn’t play well enough Saturday to win against a team of this caliber. All we want to do is focus on getting better this week. If we get better, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win. We’ve felt that way all along.”
The Crimson Tide are 33-1 in their past 34 games inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. A Saban-led club hasn’t lost a home opener since 1998, when his Michigan State team lost to Colorado State 20 years ago. Alabama is 11-0 in home openers under Saban.
Other than one loss to Ole Miss in September 2015, Alabama has gone undefeated in Tuscaloosa since a 2012 loss to Texas A&M.
The Tide haven’t hosted a Sun Belt Conference opponent since 2015, when the University of Louisiana-Monroe took a 34-0 punch from Alabama, the eventual national champions.
Saban-coached teams have outscored Sun Belt opponents 400-107, including three shutouts.
“We’ve just got to work on taking the best team we can in,” Anderson said. “If we get that team on the field and they play at their best, then that gives us a chance to win.”