Nick Saban: We Have to be Able to Handle 'Oh s***' Moments

Nick Saban liked what he saw at practice, but Wednesday is a long way from Saturday.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The theme of the week as Alabama prepares to face Ole Miss this weekend is "energy."

It's on the mind of fans and media alike, wondering how the Crimson Tide, after suffering its second loss and virtually out of the College Football Playoff and  Southeastern Conference Championship race, would respond during practice in the days leading up to a showdown against the No. 11 Rebels. Nick Saban was asked that very question during Wednesday's evening press conference, and the Alabama head coach provided his thoughts on the matter.

"I was pretty pleased with the way the players did that today," Saban said in regards to the energy at practice. "You gotta invest in that in practice and it takes good energy and enthusiasm and focus every day to be able to do that."

Saban has stressed all season about how important it is to build correct habits at the fundamental level, and doing so requires a certain amount of energy, discipline and enthusiasm. Even if a team has that, however, it doesn't guarantee success on Saturday.

"You hope that when guys practice well — and I believe in this — that they will play better in the game," Saban said. "But there's so many things that happen in the game that you have to be able to maintain your individual momentum to be able to play the next play and execute when your best is needed.

"I mean, when an 'Oh s***!' moment comes up in the game, you gotta be able to play the next play just like you gotta do the same thing in life. Some we create, some we don't create [but] we still have to deal with, but you gotta have the right mindset to be able to sustain the right energy level and regain momentum when those things happen."

Saban hopes his team takes the field with the right mindset as No. 10 Alabama will take on No. 11 Ole Miss in Oxford. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.

This story will be updated with video from the press conference.

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