TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Regardless of the opponent, those first-game jitters remain.
Even after opening the past two seasons in prime time against ranked opponents in the Georgia Dome, Alabama players said there is nothing different about preparing for under-manned San Jose State. Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said he anticipates a few butterflies before the 7 p.m. meeting with the Trojans, and Alabama coach Nick Saban looks forward to seeing how his team’s inexperienced talent performs when the lights come on.
“I’ve said this before: Some guys play better when the game comes, and some guys who practice pretty well don’t compete nearly as well when the game comes, and I don’t think you can figure that out until the game comes,” Saban said. “If hot peppers give you a bellyache, you can’t figure it out until you eat hot peppers.”
For San Jose State, there isn’t a whole lot to lose playing at the defending national champions with a first-year head coach and a roster limited by academic sanctions.
Still, coach Mike MacIntyre digging into his bag of tricks to prepare his team for the atmosphere they’ll encounter in Bryant-Denny Stadium tonight.
“There is nothing you can do exactly for what they’re about to see,” he said.
Because the pleasant northern California weather doesn’t prepare the Trojans for the heat and humidity of early September in Alabama, they spent extra time on the field turf of one practice field. It was about 10 degrees hotter on the artificial surface, so 80-degree heat felt closer to the climate they’ll encounter tonight.
“I’d take them down there and work them harder and run them more and try to get them a little better feel for that environment and the heat,” MacIntyre said.
The Trojans also piped in extra noise to mimic the 101,000-plus fans expected to fill the expanded home of the Tide. To counter the noise, the Trojans have installed a silent count into their offense.
MacIntyre doesn’t see any discouragement in a team that plans to use a few players on both sides of the ball against the Tide.
“Usually, you kind of have a dip with the team after school starts, but these kids are sky high,” MacIntyre said. “They’re really excited about playing, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be either. There’s no browbeating and that type of thing or motivation to get them to practice hard and prepare because they realize they are playing the best in the country. …
“They realize they are playing about four or five guys that are going to be drafted in the first 20 picks of the draft, and they’re going to be playing in front of the biggest crowd they’ve ever seen in their lives.”
The absence of the summer-long buildup for the opener isn’t too much of a bummer for Alabama players. Playing a team without a ranking should benefit the youth, who’ll get a chance to ease into their new roles before high-profile Penn State comes to town Week 2.
Don’t expect an Alabama player to downplay the importance of what needs accomplishing today, and San Jose State’s relatively small stature isn’t a factor.
“No, that doesn’t change anything,” Tide safety Mark Barron said. “I mean, it’s still a game.”
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