BATON ROUGE — LSU head coach Nick Saban addressed the media on Monday afternoon during his weekly press luncheon on the fifth floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building.
QUOTES FROM NICK SABAN’S WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
“Happy Holiday to you all if I forget later on. This is not a holiday that we get to celebrate much, and we won’t be enjoying it much this time around either.”
“We had a good week this past week. The players had a pretty good upbeat attitude about it. It was unusual to have to manage two-bye weeks this close together at the end of the season. Hopefully it won’t have a negative effect on us.”
“I think that this game is more for the players than any of the other games that we have played so far. It’s kind of like a one-game season for them. They have a lot to accomplish in respect to some of the goals that they set
for themselves early on. We can still possibly be a solid top-25 team at the end of the season.”
“Winning eight games would be pretty significant, and this game is probably going to have an effect on us getting into a New Year’s Day bowl game. Also being co-champions of our division would be a pretty significant accomplishment for our players.”
“The possibilities of us playing in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game no longer exist, and the thing that we have to guard against most is the complacency that goes along with the fact that we are not in the same position that we were last week. That is going to be different than having a chance to play in the SEC Championship game.”
“Arkansas did extremely well last week against Mississippi State. They won a great game. The players played with a tremendous attitude and amount of toughness. They really played to gain some respectability as a team, and it showed in the way that they played in the game. They did a tremendous job rushing the football and playing as a physical team, and they pulled the game out in overtime.”
“For us not to have the proper respect for Arkansas would be a mistake relative to what they’ve accomplished and where they are at right now. They are certainly going to be playing for respectability and the chance to go to a bowl game versus us. The game is also in Little Rock, so that is going to be challenging for us.”
“The biggest thing for us is our attitude and how we approach the game. It doesn’t just exist on our team. You can walk around town and that’s all people are talking about. All they talk about is where are they going to make reservations to go for the bowl game. The season’s not even over, and the Arkansas game has not been played. That needs to come first and that has to be our we play on Friday.”
“I’m sure everybody’s interested in Toefield’s situation. He is still questionable for the game and has not practiced yet. He may practice today, or try to move around a little bit today. I think that will go a long way to see how he can handles it to see if he will be able to contribute in the game at all, in any way. Other than that, I don’t think that we have any other new injuries to report.”