Invariably, when the University of Alabama football team faces a team that is a substantial underdog, head coach Nick Saban raises his guard. Usually, that’s to guard against overconfidence. This week, the greater concern is probably self-pity.
Many of Alabama’s current players are too young to have a built-in wariness about Louisiana-Monroe. Most were in middle school in 2007, when the Warhawks came to town and upset an Alabama team that was drifting far off course for reasons ranging from textbook suspensions to a textbook case of senioritis for some (not all) of the players.
This year’s team isn’t adrift to that extent.