Alabama might have the best football team in the country right now, but its home-field advantage needs some serious work.
The 12th Man it is not.
Nick Saban knows it, and that's why he's always preaching the same message. On Wednesday, he reeled off an 83-word run-on sentence begging Alabama fans to actually, you know, cheer on Saturday against No.22 Texas A&M. It's a constant refrain for Saban, who has been critical of fans in the past, but his sermon seemed a little more pointed this week.
"We're going to have to finish, play better, stay more focused and be able to sustain in a game for 60 minutes," Saban said, "and hopefully we'll have a big-game atmosphere in Bryant-Denny Stadium where the fans are into it, and really help our team keep the emotional level in a difficult game where it needs to be so that we can continue to persevere and execute for 60 minutes in a game, and maybe have some effect on their ability to execute.