ALABAMA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Saban cautions against letdown

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama coach Nick Saban said Mississippi State presents several challenges for his team this week.

First, he wants to make sure his players prepare well after their emotional win over LSU on Saturday.

“I think it gets more and more difficult to maintain that level of consistency, mentally, because each and every team that we play is capable of beating any team on any given day,” Saban said. “This team (State) is right down to the wire with LSU, had it first-and-1 at the 1 or 2 and didn’t punch it in to win.

“But yet, LSU is the game of the year and this game is like (no big deal). I don’t see it that way and I don’t want the players to see it that way.”

Linebacker Rolando McClain said it was time to move on from the LSU game.

“We were ready for that game, it was a big game,” McClain said. “It obviously was an emotional win, but at the same time we still have things to do. We still have to get ready for a good team.”

Javier Arenas said Alabama probably made the LSU victory tougher to earn than it should have been.

“After the game, we were pretty excited when we realized we had won,” Arenas said. “But a lot of stuff needs to be done, getting corrected, in order for us to continue to be successful.”

Tide on TV
Alabama’s 6 p.m. game against Mississippi State will be televised nationally on ESPN (Charter Cable Channel 31 in Lee County). It is the Tide’s 17th national TV appearance since the start of the 2008 season.

ESPN also broadcast the Alabama-South Carolina contest on Oct. 17.

The Crimson Tide will play its home finale against Chattanooga on Nov. 21. That game will be televised at 11:21 a.m. on the SEC Network.

Alabama played early kickoffs on the SEC Network this season against North Texas on Sept. 19 and at Kentucky on Oct. 3.

Tiffin honored
Placekicker Leigh Tiffin was named one of 20 national semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, presented to the best kicker in college football.

Tiffin became Alabama’s career scoring leader on Saturday when he scored 10 points against LSU.

The senior from Muscle Shoals has 347 career points, which broke Philip Doyle’s mark of 345 set from 1987-90.

His 76 career field goals are second behind Doyle’s school record of 78. He is 23 for 26 on field goal tries this season.

“We’ve been kicking good all year and in the zone and on a hot streak, hopefully we’ll keep it going,” Tiffin said Monday.

Arenas recognized
Senior cornerback Javier Arenas was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against LSU.

Arenas made seven tackles, including two for losses totaling minus-8 yards and had a quarterback hurry in Alabama’s 24-15 victory.

The defensive back is tied for second in the SEC with 10.5 tackles for loss this season. He is third on the team with 52 tackles.

Staff standouts
Arenas was joined by six teammates who were recognized by Alabama coaches after the LSU game.

He and Marcell Dareus, who had two sacks, were the defensive players of the week.

Tiffin and Jerrell Harris earned special teams honors. Tiffin was 3-for-3 on field goals and made an extra point. He averaged 67.7 yards on six kickoffs with two touchbacks.

On offense, senior tackle Drew Davis and wide receivers Marquis Maze and Julio Jones were recognized. Davis helped Mark Ingram rush for 144 yards. Maze (six catches, 88 yards) and Jones (four catches, 102 yards) had their most productive games of the season.

Injury report
While the news was far different for the visitors, Alabama didn’t sustain any new injuries against LSU.

Saban said tight end Colin Peek (knee) and Terry Grant (pulled muscle) would practice more as the week progressed. Both players worked Monday and were in white jerseys during the media viewing period.

“We have normal bumps and bruises that guys typically have on Monday, but nobody that we expect not to be able to practice,” the coach said.

Saban did say that Chance Warmack is ill.