Saban not concerned with ranking

TUSCALOOSA — Nick Saban is all about preparation, so he was ready for the question about Alabama being ranked No. 2 this week.

“I don’t even know what we’re ranked. Nobody’s told me,” Saban said at his Monday press conference. “... Whatever it is, can somebody tell me who was ranked there last year at this time? Does anybody know?”

Silence. So the coach asked another question.

“Who was leading the marathon at the Olympics halfway through? Can anybody tell me? If they didn’t win, it doesn’t matter. Nobody cares.”
Of course, a couple of Crimson Tide players hinted the coach had an idea about Alabama’s ranking, which is its highest since 1993.

“He asked us who was ranked second this time last year,” linebacker Cory Reamer said.

How did he know to ask the players who was ranked No. 2 last season without knowing his team’s ranking?

Well, the point was well made. Alabama is five games into a 12-game regular season with a number of obstacles to overcome.

“What he’s trying to say is sustain and keep playing to our ability,” cornerback and return specialist Javier Arenas said.

The players seemed to take the ranking in stride.

“It was cool. No. 2,” Arenas said. “It don’t mean nothing to us. End of the season, ask me how I feel and I’ll let you know.”

Of course, if Alabama players were feeling good about themselves after its convincing 41-30 win over Georgia, Tide coaches were ready for them at film study on Monday morning.

“The coaching staff was definitely excited,” safety Rashad Johnson said. “That made guys wake up a little bit.

“Like coach Saban said, this is a good game for him because we did great things. But we also let down so he can point out the bad things that we don’t need on our team.”

Still, Antoine Caldwell used most of his time before Saban’s “24-hour rule” went into effect.

“I watched everything. I watched ESPN a lot because I’m a college football fan,” Caldwell said. “You hear everything, but you get a reality check when you come back in here at 7 a.m. with coach.

“He lets you know the things you need to work on and that none of this stuff matters. ... We’ve really had to develop that mentality that it doesn’t matter. We have to play our best ball every Saturday. Now that we’re ranked as high as we are, it’s going to be even harder. We’ve got a target on us for sure, and we have to prepare even harder than we did before.”

Injury update: Alabama had two players in black (no contact) jerseys at Monday’s practice. Tight end Preston Dial, who had his knee scoped last week and didn’t make the trip to Georgia, is day-to-day. Saban said he would be “very questionable” for this weekend’s game. Wide receiver Mike McCoy, nursing a hamstring injury, is also day-to-day. The coach also said freshman running back Mark Ingram, who did practice Monday,  suffered a bruised knee Saturday night.