Alabama practices with regular-season schedule

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Like his head coach, Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones is not a fan of hypotheticals or what if questions.

When asked about the possibility of the Crimson Tide not being in the championship game had Arkansas not beaten Ole Miss, Jones just shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and kept his response short.

"We're here," Jones said before flashing a deadpan look.

Alabama is here, back in the national championship game with a chance to win its fourth title in seven years. The Crimson Tide faces undefeated Clemson on Monday with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Alabama has won three national championship under Nick Saban, but this is still unfamiliar territory to a degree. In those title runs, Alabama played at most 14 games with the championship game serving as the bowl game.

This year, last week's Cotton Bowl semifinal against Michigan State was treated as the bowl game. Monday's title tilt offers a different set of circumstances based on the practice and travel schedules leading up to the contest.

"Players have got to understand: This is not a bowl game," Saban said. "We don't go out there and practice for a week. We're in game week. We've got to get ready to play the game here (in Tuscaloosa). We've got to travel. We can practice out there (in Arizona) once and kind of go from there."

Added Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, "This game is much more like a regular-season game feel, maybe like having a bye week with a little extra time. Not at all like a bowl feel where you have bowl practices that are irrelevant to the team you are playing. Maybe like having a Thursday night game after a Saturday night game the week before, like a week and a half."

Saban and the Tide's coaching staff have done their best to manage fatigue and overall health. Following the semifinal game last Thursday, Alabama took two full days off before practicing on Sunday. From there, the Tide had a workout on Sunday and Monday before taking Tuesday off. The Tide picked up its preparation for Clemson on Wednesday to give the players a feel of a regular-game week schedule.

"I'm hopeful that that'll be the right combination," Saban said. "But we do sort of back off as we go through the season on a pretty regular basis. We've done that this year, and I think it's been beneficial. I think it's helped us finish a little better and hopefully it will be the right combination for this game."

Still, Saban knows Clemson will test the Tide's limits in ways Michigan State couldn't.

"This is going to be a totally different kind of game, too, because these guys average 80-something plays a game," Saban said. "Michigan State didn't average that many. They weren't a fastball team. The game's going to be long and the players are going to play more plays. It's going to be a game where conditioning's going to be at a premium."

-- Contact Anniston Star Sports Writer Marq Burnett at mburnett@annistonstar.com. On Twitter:@Marq_Burnett.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Alabama practices with regular-season schedule ."