Crimson Red Sports

It has been building for weeks now, gathering momentum like an avalanche - or, more precisely, dueling avalanches, hurtling down towering Alps, crushing anything standing in the way. Maximum speed has been reached. No obstacles remain. The collision - the cataclysm - that will be Alabama vs. LSU is upon us.

You can now ask Nick Saban himself about the game, and get a suggestion, not a snarl. So what is Saban's suggestion, with the countdown clock to the latest Greatest Game Ever ticking down?

"Chill out."

That's it, at least for now. "Chill out."
"There is going to be a lot of hype about this game, but I think everybody needs to chill out, mentally and physically," Saban said.

That won't happen in this state. It won't happen in Louisiana. It won't happen at almost any point in the college football universe - but Saban does want it to happen with his own team.

There is a reason. It is easy to think of a team as a force of nature. Alabama has bulldozed eight straight opponents, none by less than 16 points. It hasn't had to make a really critical fourth-quarter play all season long. But it is still a team made up of young flesh and young bones, and after eight straight weeks of football, it needs a break. It was obvious standing on the Alabama sideline as the game ended. Running back Eddie Lacy walked gingerly past the media members. Offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio did the same. It was a team that flexed its collective muscle when it had to against Tennessee, but that collective muscle needs to rest and relax, at least for a few days.

"The No. 1 thing I told them in the locker room was that we don't have a game for two weeks, that we get to rest up and heal up," Saban said. "We will take some days off. I am not big on prepping too long. That's when guys get bored."