"Y'all ready for a lecture?"
When Nick Saban says those words, you know you're in for something good. Wednesday's lesson was on "the importance of nothing."
"You get up every day, you're entitled to... nothing. Nobody owes you... nothing. You could have talent, but if you don’t have discipline, if you don’t execute, you don’t focus, you get nothing. If you’re complacent, and not paying attention to detail, what does that get you? Nothing.”
Saban then turned his word of the day around.
"So, nothing is acceptable but your best. Everything is determined by you trying to be your best. There should be nothing else but that for everybody."
It's no coincidence Saban's message came when it did. After everyone was ready to bury the Crimson Tide after the loss to Texas, plus the following win over South Florida that looked like a loss, Alabama is once again alone in first place in the SEC West. Three fellow West teams have just one conference loss, and Alabama has already defeated two of them.
The Crimson Tide are heavy favorites to beat 2-4 Arkansas on Saturday.
"That's what we have to stay focused on, that's what we need to do. We need to not accept anything but our best in terms of what we're doing in preparation."