Kiffin, Saban have similar praise for each other heading into Saturday

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI)- No. 12 Ole Miss visits No. 1 Alabama on Saturday. To say there’s history between head coaches Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban would be an understatement. They squarred off in 2009 when Lane was at Tennessee. Kiffin was Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama for three seasons, including the Crimson Tide’s national title season in 2015. The two coached against each other again last season, Alabama won 63-48.

They are more than familiar with each other and when asked about the opponent this weekend the praise given was identical- both teams have improved.

“I think they (Alabama) are even better,” Kiffin said. “I said last year was a great team and maybe his best team ever and people thought I was just saying that leading up to the game but you look and they run the table in not really close games. In the last two years only Florida and Ole Miss have scored over 24 points against them and I think they are better on defense.”

“Lane does an outstanding job with their offense,” Saban said. “The overall team has improved in every category on defense and special teams. They are playing extremely well and are one of the best offensive teams in the country, no doubt. Quarterback (Matt Corral) is a fantastic player and does it a great job of executing it. They have lots of speed.”

Kickoff on Saturday is at 2:30 and you can watch the game on WCBI.