I HAVE been curious as to why it seems he's doing so much better there than he did here. I'm sure there will be some gumps that says it's just because it's Alabama, but that's just asinine.
Easy. He's simply more experienced, now. He went to the NFL and mastered the 3-4 defense. Further, the SEC had some much stiffer competition when he was here, which hasn't been the case quite as much the past few years (especially 2009). Auburn, Tennessee, and Georgia were much better when he was at LSU (even Florida for his first several years). However, things are turning over and the league is regaining it's competitiveness. I will say, though, that the little bastard has the schedule in his favor this year. He doesn't have to face any of the top 3 teams in the SECE.
There was a time when it seemed LSU played worse after an open date. I used to fear them when WE had one before playing a big-time game. Seemed like we lost some momentum as a team. Maybe it was just me, though...IDK.
Definitely not just you, I remember that as well. I think that was a Saban thing, though. I know we had an open date before before the Florida loss in 2003. It seems like I recall a few others, too.
Yes, it was Saban's LSU teams that had problems following open dates. For that matter, his Bama team lost to us last year following the open date.
At Alabama he was 6 and 0 that year facing bye teams. Just expect a level playing field. It's only fair.
