Nick Saban-Mark Dantonio lightsaber battle

“So I was forced”. It’s the chemistry and the veteran leadership by guys like Reed and A’Shawn Robinson.

However, he said the strained shoulder never entered his mind on that decisive play in Indianapolis.

Smart also was asked about the unusual situation of having his replacement, former Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, already in the building. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I had to face Denzel Devall, Reggie Ragland, Reuben Foster, Dillon Lee”. “I really don’t see a whole lot of vulnerability but occasionally they get beat deep in the pass game. So it was a no-brainer for me”. He didn’t have another 100-yard game until this season, when he has seven, one short of B.J. Cunningham’s school record. And University of Alabama allowed me to coach in the game. “If you get past that, you get lost”. Now that the Spartans are on the biggest national stage in college football, fans and media alike have no choice but to pay attention to the Spartans. “I’m feeling 10 times better than I was last season”. Their 2016 class is ranked 13th.

“We have a bad taste in our mouth from a year ago, so we’re coming with some animosity”.

Scarbrough played three seasons at Northridge High School before transferring out of state to play his senior season. But in this case, with two SEC powers separated by a four-hour drive, there will be some overlap. “If you can add a national championship title to it, there’s probably nothing better”. But I still got these letters week after week.

Shepard said Monday he’s toned down some of his antics at the request of his mother, especially after a much-publicized encounter with Alexander during pre-game warmups at last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl.

There could be a Saban-Smart battle brewing for another linebacker from Alabama, Lyndell Wilson of Montgomery.

Savage, now Alabama’s radio analyst and executive director of the Senior Bowl, said nobody on Saban’s coaching tree “is going to coach exactly like Nick Saban”.

The answer he gave to me Monday: “Do you want to play?” “It wasn’t a long conversation because they knew what I could do, and I knew what I could do”.

“Oh yeah, for sure, just because all the running backs at Alabama are top-notch”, said Scott, a coveted recruit from Hubbard, Ohio who is MSU’s leading rusher in his first season.

“It’s a lot of guys from Ohio who didn’t get offers from Ohio State and a lot of guys from Michigan who didn’t get offers from Michigan”, Conklin, the offensive tackle from Plainwell, Mich., said. “We need you to come play”. But that’s what tailbacks want – you want to be fed the ball.

And they might see Gerald Holmes instead. Of course, Smart isn’t going to say it like that.

“Things were certainly on the uptick, ” said Ken Mannie, Michigan States strength and conditioning coach. “We understand the strains and the stresses”. “We go by our own evaluations”. It’s not go bash each other. After being immersed in the championship culture at Alabama since 2007, Smart should have a very good idea what kind of talent it will take to win it all. “If that’s coaching this game, why change something that’s been working?”

While the Crimson Tide may be the superior team, Michigan State has played way too well on defense this season and plays too well as an underdog to be written off. Take the 9.5 points on the Spartans to keep it close in the Cotton Bowl.

A few days after telling a room full of reporters that he prepares for big games by forcing center Jack Allen to go from room to room offering his teammates back massages, Calhoun had one of the best games of his career against Iowa in the Big Ten championship game.

“They’re big, they’re fast, they rarely mess up, (and) they do what they’re supposed to do”.

Much like Alabama’s defensive front was expected to lead the Tide this season, the same can be said for Michigan State’s offensive line.