"The number one thing is that the players need to understand the level of energy that goes into a game like this and you have to anticipate that and don’t let it take you by surprise,” Saban said. “The second thing is you have to be able to stay focused on what you need to do on the field, and at some point and time in this game you are going to have to be able to overcome adversity because everything is not going to go your way. How you respond to those things and play the next play is really important to being consistent, which is really important in a game like this.”
“Consistency has always been the issue with our team — to be able to play at a high level at a consistent basis,” Saban explained. “In this day and age, it doesn’t really matter what you did last week. You are only as good as your last play, only as good as your last game so how you play this week is the most important thing.”