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SEC Coaches speak about the challenges of playing Alabama

SEC Media Days closed out last week in Hoover, Alabama. It was the first chance we heard from opposing SEC Coaches speak about the challenges of playing Alabama. (Scroll down)

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Alabama Football is 22-2 vs. the SEC since the 2014 season
Alabama Football is 22-2 vs. the SEC since the 2014 season

LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron 

He Said It: "Obviously, they have done a great job and Coach Saban has done a great job, and did a great job at LSU. Last year was a very tight game, was 0-0 going into the third quarter, their quarterback made plays, and our didn't. So I don't know if there is that big of a gap. I think we need to play our football. Obviously, there are a lot of people are on a schedule that are very, very good football teams, so we just can't point to Alabama. They are the benchmark and the head coach at LSU must beat Alabama, I think the way we beat Alabama is to recruit at their level, they are recruiting at a very high level now, they do a great job of evaluation and coach very well get your team ready to play. Again, last year we were not very far off."

Last Year: Alabama 10, LSU 0

This Year: LSU at Alabama on November 4

Early Line: Alabama -6

Last Beat Alabama In: 2011

Related Story: Derrius Guice still feels Alabama defense was 'scared' of LSU

Auburn's Gus Malzahn 

Head Said It: "Well, I mean, obviously they're on the top. I think they won it the last three years. They're number one recruiting class in the country every year, and they're playing a high level."

Last Year: Alabama 30, Auburn 12

This Year: Alabama @ Auburn on November 25th

Early Line: Alabama -12

Last beat Alabama In: 2013

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Florida's Jim McElwain

He Said It: "They've just done an outstanding job. I think closing the gap, as I go back to I guess the understanding here, each year is its own and certain things happen that you don't have control over, and yet what you hope happens is you've taken care of a lot of the details along the way, that when something comes up, you can still be successful. That's the great thing they've done in that program. And I don't know the gap itself. You know, I do understand this. They're right now at the top, and, you know, it's up to the rest of us to go get them."

Last Year: Alabama 54, Florida 16 *SEC Championship game

This Year: Not scheduled to play

Last Beat Alabama In: 2008

Related Story: Why Saban might need to tone down his tirades this season

Tennessee's Butch Jones 

He Said It: "In terms of Alabama, obviously, that's a great, great rivalry. That game means so many things to so many people. So, again, we take that game very, very seriously and have a lot of respect for what Coach Saban has built at Alabama and what they've done. It's also a great rivalry game, so that game means a lot to us."

Last Year: Alabama 49, Tennessee 10

This Year: Tennessee @ Alabama on October 21

Last Beat Alabama In: 2006

Related Story: How Tennessee feels about rivalry with Alabama

Georgia's Kirby Smart

He Said It: "You know, that's a common question at this event. And I think the biggest thing is recruiting and development. A lot of people say it's one or the other, do you recruit great players or do you develop great players. When you do both, that's when you got something special. And I think every team in this conference is trying to play catch-up in regards to that. I think each one's getting closer, and we'd like to see that gap

closed through recruiting. But you can only do that through hard work and grinding, and that's what we continue to do in Athens."

Last Year: Did not play

This Year: Not scheduled to play

Last Beat Alabama In: 2007

Related Story: Kirby Smart compares Roquan Smith to former Alabama LB

Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin

He Said It: "The consistency of that program over the years did not come overnight. I think people understand that. But you can't argue that that is the mark, and that's where everybody wants to be. So, from my standpoint and from what we do, we got a lot of games in the West to play. And you can win a lot of games in the West, and that one can take its toll on

you. I think it took its toll on us the last couple of years, matter of fact. So we've got to do a better job of handling things mentally. I look back at that game. I think we're winning the game with, what, six minutes to go in the third quarter and a couple things happen and we lose by ten points, or whatever it was, two touchdowns. And then, you know, kind of unravel after that. So, the mental part of that deal and what you do day-to-day, to get back to the question earlier, is the focus. And, you know, that -- without question, for what Nick

has done and what that program has done, they were ahead of the curve a long time ago with how they approach things, and I think, you know, that was -- has basically been the model of the people you tried to follow."

Last Year: Alabama 33, Texas A&M 14

This Year: Alabama @ Texas A&M on October 7

Last Beat Alabama In: 2012

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Vanderbilt's Derek Mason

He Said It: "I take this thing one day at a time. But in speaking about Coach Saban and his football team, there's nobody right now that's doing it better, you know, when you look at longevity of his program, what he's done, how he's built it. He's built it around who he is and how he sees football, and that's extremely important. Because that's about being who you are.

He is what he is all of the time. I sat in meetings with him and, believe me, I like his demeanor. I like the way he handles himself. I like the way he coaches his football team. So I respect it. But here's what I tell you. I don't fear anybody, and our team as well. So when we line up to play Alabama, we got to line up to play Alabama. We have three other opponents, starting with MTSU. That's where we sit today, and that's where we'll be. When we face

Alabama, we're going to be ready to play."

Last Year: Did not play

This Year: Alabama @ Vanderbilt on September 23

Last Beat Alabama In: 1984

Related Story: Nick Saban sounds off on contrived QB controversy

What Nick Saban Said In Regards To The SEC

"Well, I have a tremendous amount of respect for a lot of teams in our league. I mean, LSU is

very, very good. Ole Miss has beaten us a couple times in the last few years. Mississippi State has got a good quarterback coming back. Arkansas's got a good quarterback coming back. A&M's always a very challenging team. I think Kirby's doing a great job at Georgia. Jim McElwain is doing a good job at Florida. Tennessee has gotten better and better every year. I

am trying to think of somebody in our league that I don't have a tremendous amount of respect for. Vanderbilt went to a Bowl game last year and had a winning season. I think there's a lot of parity in our league. I think it's very challenging from a consistency standpoint in our

league. I think that we have one of the youngest teams that we've ever had. So it's going to be a real challenge for us to maintain the standard that we've been able to maintain in terms of -- especially on defense, especially in the front seven, for all the good players that we lost.

So I have tremendous amount of respect, and I don't see us being a -- being any different than anybody else when it comes to the challenges of preparation and getting ready to play really good teams that we have a tremendous amount of respect for. And we're obviously going to find that out in the first game when we play Florida State in the Chick-fil-A preseason

game over in the Mercedes-Benz new stadium. We're looking forward to that challenge, but at the same time, there's a lot of really good football teams in college football. And we have a lot of guys on our team that have tremendous challenges to be able to replace some of the good players that we lost."

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