BATON ROUGE — On Monday afternoon, LSU head coach Nick Saban spoke to the local and regional media following his team’s 27-14 victory over No. 22 Auburn to vault his Tigers into the SEC Championship game against Tennessee on Saturday.
QUOTES FROM NICK SABAN’S WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
Opening Statement
“We talked quite a bit about the last game and obviously we’re very pleased and happy about the outcome of that game and the opportunity it gives our team. It was a very physical game and I was very pleased about how the guys competed in the game. We had a lot of guys play a lot of good football, they played hard and it was truly a team win all the way around.”
“We did good things offensively. We controlled the ball and I thought that it was the best that we played defensively all year long. I know that we gave up a play here and there, especially the big play early, but the consistency, especially in the first half, helped us to overcome some turnovers and really allowed us compete well in the game and overcome adversity.”
“We gave ourselves a chance to stay in the game and actually get ahead and have a lead going into halftime. I thought that on special teams, even though we had a field goal blocked in the game, I think that special teams was outstanding and really contributed in a positive way to field position.”
“Two field position situations turned into scores for us in the first half, the onside kick and the 29-yard punt return to the 50-yard line, both resulted in touchdowns for us. That was really good for us. I was really pleased with how our players took care of business in that game. They did the things that they had to do in that particular game to be successful.”
On this week’s challenge of playing Tennessee
“I think that the opportunity that we have now is certainly a challenge to play Tennessee in the SEC Championship game. It is something that I am certainly proud of our team having a chance to do that based on what they’ve accomplished, but it’s going to be a difficult challenge for us.”
“Tennessee obviously has a chance to play in the National Championship game and they are the No. 2 rated team in the country. They are just playing outstanding football right now on both sides of the ball and to run the ball against Florida like they did, to make the plays in the passing game when they needed to, have the ability to affect quarterbacks with their pass rush like they always have defensively, covering very well in the secondary, and they are a very sound and well-coached team on special teams. This is going to be a very, very difficult game.”
On the first match-up against Tennessee
“Everybody’s probably going to go back and talk about the last game (Tennessee 26, LSU 18 on Sept. 29) and compare this game to last game. They are probably a much different team right now and I’m sure that they have made a tremendous amount of improvements over the course of the year.”
“I think that we’ve made some improvement over the course of the year as well. It’s a difficult comparison. It’s not really the same two teams that play. I guess I’m just a little more used to it than some, because in the NFL you play all of the teams in your division twice a year. The games are never the same. Just because the outcome of the first game was a certain way, doesn’t mean that the outcome of the second game will be that way.”
“This is going to be a very challenging game for us and I think that the most important thing for us is that we need to focus on trying to beat Tennessee and doing the things that we need to do be able to do that. It’s going to be a very difficult task for our team, but it’s a challenge that I’m happy to have and one that I’m sure that our players will welcome the opportunity, because it is a very good opportunity for them.”
On his team’s injuries
“From an injury standpoint, we have about four or five guys that won’t practice today. We’ll have practice a little later today when we go on the field and we’ll have a little shorter practice, but I think (Demetrius) Hookfin and Lavar Johnson have shoulder injuries. They won’t practice today.”
“Kenderick Allen is sick, but he should be fine. Dave Petersen has a knee and Ryan O’Neal has a bruised knee, but none of those guys are ruled out of the game at this point in time. Decisions will be made on them later on in the week.