The Final Say

Photo by Ian Halperin/CBAA

   Coaches Mark Dantonio of Michigan State and Nick Saban of Alabama came together Wednesday morning for one final press conference prior to the kickoff of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Thursday.
   The coaches were cordial and posed with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic trophy (above) but it was obvious they were ready to get their game faces on and start playing.
  "Well, when you look at Alabama, first of all, they have very, very good players. Secondly, they're extremely well-coached. They play very disciplined. Due to some of the people I've worked for, I understand technique, et cetera," Dantonio said.
   "And as I said earlier, my first statement, it would be a great challenge for us. Great opportunity to be here today, but it will be a great challenge. We'll need to be at our best, play at our best because our best is going to be needed here."
   Saban had similar sentiments about Michigan State.
   "I think that Michigan State is a team that obviously is hard to beat," Saban said. "They beat you basically on fundamental execution and not making a lot of mistakes. And that always makes the team hard to beat. And then you throw in the kind of competitive resiliency they've shown this year, that's really helped them to be very, very successful."