Alabama players and coaches continue to say all the right things this week. Coming off a bye week that allowed the Crimson Tide some much-needed rest after a ridiculous gauntlet of a schedule, it would be the natural time for players to believe they can catch their breath a little bit before the postseason.
The toughest tests are behind them, some may be apt to believe. But Ty Simpson certainly isn't thinking that way. Neither is Kalen DeBoer.
On his radio show on Wednesday night, DeBoer urged fans to show up and be loud at Bryant-Denny Stadium this weekend. He also spoke about just how monumental a task the Crimson Tide has in front of it to beat LSU.
"It's the most important game of the year for a lot of reasons, but most importantly because it's the next one," DeBoer said. "Our guys have done a great job putting themselves in a spot where every game matters. ...It's going to be a tough test, and we're going to have to bring our best for 4 quarters to win another SEC game."
Alabama continues to treat every game like the "Super Bowl"
Alabama lost a mulligan before the calendar even flipped to September, thanks to a disheartening performance on the road in the season-opener against Florida State. Perhaps that wake-up call was for the best, however, because it forced a change in mentality with the coaching staff and the locker room.
Alabama has had no choice but to now treat every game like the Super Bowl. Every game has carried a significant amount of weight for a program that knows it is playoff or bust for the fanbase. Anything short of the College Football Playoff would not only be a significant disappointment, but it would also serve to put DeBoer right back on the hot seat.
Alabama still has a mulligan left, most likely. Banking four ranked wins in a row from late September through October was pivotal. No team in the country has a better collection of wins than Alabama, having won at Georgia and Missouri and beaten Vanderbilt and Tennessee at home.
That's given the Crimson Tide a little margin for error in November. But the team isn't thinking that way. They're going to treat LSU like it's the Super Bowl on Saturday with the thought that a loss would end the season, even though it wouldn't.
That's the mentality that has driven Alabama's seven-game winning streak. It won't change now.