Nick Saban opens up on Alabama's open week goals as Jalen Milroe leads his team to comeback win - "This is not a good time to get relief syndrome"

Alabama coach Nick Saban provided insights into the No. 9 Crimson Tide's goals during their open week in Week 9 of the 2023 college football season. The long-serving coach emphasized the importance of maintaining the right mindset during this break.

Saban and his team will focus on improvement. The coach said the break presents an opportunity to work on aspects of the game the program was not exposed to in its previous matchups. The primary objective for these three days is to help injured players recover and improve.

Regarding the need for the open week, Saban said:

“I think you want to keep the right mindset during the bye week. Psychologically, you don’t have to focus on a particular game, but I do think you need to focus on what do we need to do to improve. This is not a time to get relief syndrome, like, ‘OK, I’m just going to go mess around.’”

He encouraged his team to use this period for self-improvement and to enhance their fundamental skills. Nick Saban wants the team to maintain a strong work ethic.

Alabama does a physical analysis concerning the workload of players. From that perspective, the workload analysis revealed that this open week is crucial for player recovery.

With 43 percent of the usual workload, it should allow players to recuperate and prepare for the remaining games. Saban said:

“We do an analysis on all of our players. You get psychologically tired, and you think, now you get into your feelings about how you feel, or are you actually physically not able to do the things at the same level you were doing them in the summer, in fall camp, earlier in the season?”

For Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the open week couldn’t have come at a better time.

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Jalen Milroe and Nick Saban inspire comeback win over Tennessee Volunteers

Alabama staged an impressive comeback to snatch a 34-20 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. Jalen Milroe, the Crimson Tide quarterback, attributed the triumph to Alabama's determination.

The Crimson Tide had a terrible start, with the Tennessee Volunteers (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) leading 13-0 after the opening quarter and 20-7 at halftime. However, Nick Saban's team demonstrated its fight, as the Crimson Tide outscored Tennessee 27-0 in the remainder of the game.

Talking to Bama247, Milroe said:

“I think what we showed is that we don't quit. We don't quit. That's the biggest thing and what we harp on in the offseason, our offseason training, our fourth quarter program, our conditioning workouts, everything we have implemented into our program, we don't quit by any means. That was critical, and we showed that today.”

Milroe delivered a stellar performance with 220 passing yards and two touchdowns. He completed 14 of 21 passes and had one interception.

Alabama coach Nick Saban applauded the team's second-half adjustments, which were instrumental in their victory:

“In the beginning of the game, we were trying to play odd because we were really trying to stop the run. They hit the big pass, we were in odd, didn’t play the coverage exactly right on that first touchdown. But as the game went on, we played a little more even, started playing the things we had played in the past.”

This crucial win advanced Alabama's record to 7-1, including an impressive 5-0 SEC record. The school will next face the No. 15 LSU Tigers (6-2, 4-1) at home on Nov. 4. The game kicks off at 7:45 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS.