Football Hosts Middle Tennessee State to Begin Home Slate
9/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama football team put in a 90-minute session in shells on Monday afternoon outdoors on the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields in preparation for this weekend's home opener against Middle Tennessee State.
The Crimson Tide's practice to open the new week focused on making improvements in all areas following Saturday's 34-17 win over the 20th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. Alabama also began its gameplanning for this weekend's home opener against the Middle Tennessee. The Tide and Blue Raiders are scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT kickoff inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on the SEC Network with Tom Hart, Andre Ware and Laura Rutledge on the call.
Alabama will practice on Tuesday and Wednesday in full pads as the team's focus narrows towards stopping an MTSU offense that put together 605 yards of total offense and 70 points last weekend against Jackson State.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening Statement:
"We looked at the film of this game and the feeling that we had after the game was the same: There were a lot of good things during the game. I think the best thing was that our players really played hard in the game and were really physical. It was a physical game on both sides of the line. Our offensive line got some good movement when we needed to, and we had balance on offense. The defensive front controlled the running game, which was sort of their forte. I think the team had fun playing together, and that was good to see. It is always exciting as a coach when you think the players are out there having fun. They are down, they are up. The guys did the things you like to see from an energy and enthusiasm standpoint.
"We took care of the ball well during the game, and we didn't turn it over. We still need to attack the ball on defense. We made some explosive plays, and we didn't give up as many big plays. There was a lot of things that we need to clean up. There are details across the board that we need to work on: There was way too many penalties, we stopped ourselves on several drives, and there was a lack of fundamental execution and basic discipline that led to poor outcomes. That's something that we are looking forward to learning from, whether it was how we blocked; how we covered; how we played gaps up front; how we ran routes; how we protected or whatever it may be. Consequently, we need to do a little better job on third down on both sides of the ball, and certainly need to improve our execution on special teams across the board.
"When the young players get a chance to play, they need to see the standard that we expect guys to play around here regardless of the circumstance of the situation of the game. That's something I think will be a great learning experience for a lot of those players. I think concentrating on the right things, thinking about the right things, is really important right now. We need to take the things we did well and build on them. The things we need to improve on we need to address and go out there and get better at.
"We are just starting to climb a mountain here, we took one step and that's it. We have another challenge to look forward to this week. Middle Tennessee was a 6-6 team a year ago, their first week was very impressive in the way they played offensively and defensively. Rick Stockstill has been there for a while and they do a great job. They go fast on offense, and they had really good concepts and schemes about what they do. They have a good quarterback and lots of returning players on both sides of the ball. This is a game that I feel like will be a challenge for us, use it to improve on some things and be ready to play at a standard that is going to help us to get better as a team."
