ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Saban sends message to team about FIU letdown

Nick Saban made sure he got his point across.

Standing behind a podium during his Monday press conference, the Alabama football coach gradually raised his voice while answering the final question.

It didn’t take Saban long to shift gears. His tone was a full-blown yell in just a matter of moment, his eyes glowing with intensity.

Saban was making a point, and this three-minute rant wasn’t directed at the reporters sitting in the room. It was for his players along with every Crimson Tide fan in the state.

“I don’t have confidence in anything. In no uncertain terms, you’re a typical fan,” Saban yelled as he stared down the cameras in the back of the room. “If I want to be a great player, I should be playing my best on every play regardless of who we’re playing. That’s what good football teams do. That’s what we want implemented into our players.

“I respect the people we’re playing. I want our players to respect our opponents. This guy, No. 4 (Florida International receiver T.Y. Hilton) is a better offensive player than anybody we faced last week. You understand that? Whatever your perception is and what they ought to be, I don’t think it’s that. I don’t want our players to think that either.”

Everyone get the message?

Saban isn’t looking past any team on Alabama’s schedule, and that includes this week’s opponent, Florida International, from the Sun Belt Conference.

As for his players, a letdown following a big win won’t be tolerated.

But Saban doesn’t have to look very far for the perfect example. Alabama found itself in a similar situation a year ago.

After opening last season with an impressive win over Clemson — ranked No. 9 at the time — Alabama followed with a home game against lowly Tulane.

Just like FIU, Tulane was playing its first game of the season in Tuscaloosa, meaning the Green Wave had been preparing for Alabama all offseason.

And Tulane almost pulled off the upset.

That game was almost a disaster for Alabama. Gaining only 172 yards of total offense, the Crimson Tide had to return two kicks for touchdowns to beat Tulane 20-6.