Alabama head coach Nick Saban always touts the strength of the team's next opponent in each of his Monday press conferences. This Monday was no different as he said the Texas A&M Aggies were the strongest opponent "by far" the team will face this season.
"This is by far, I think, the strongest team that we've played to this point all the way around," Saban said of A&M.
Here's the entire quote from Saban on A&M, which seems to throw some serious shade at Florida State who was thought to be a national title contender earlier in the year:
"Texas A&M is the strongest team that we've played to this point looking at them from a holistic standpoint," he said. "They're a very explosive offensive team. They run the ball very effectively. They've got really good running backs. Christian Kirk is maybe the most explosive player — returner, receiver, runner — of anybody in our league. Offensively, tough to run against. They create a lot of negative plays. They've got good pass rushers. [Defensive coordinator] John Chavis always does a good job of playing very aggressive, physical football. Because of Christian Kirk being a fantastic returner, these guys are very dangerous on special teams."
Granted, FSU is going to struggle to win a lot more games considering their initial QB starter in Deondre Francois is out for the season. However, this seems just disrespectful because FSU gave Alabama its closest game of the season so far with a 24-7 score.
Alabama and A&M will kickoff at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN this Saturday.
[h/t Saturday Down South]
