For the third year in a row, Alabama football will come off its open week to play LSU. One of the premiere rivalries in the SEC West appears to be living up to the billing in 2023. It’ll be a primetime matchup with multiple national broadcasters, CBS and ESPN, riding into Tuscaloosa.

This week, the Crimson Tide and Tigers discussed the balance between using the extra days for rest versus preparation, and not just for Week 10, but for the rest of the fall.

“I think there’s a combination between rest and getting retooled, working on things that we need to work on, improve on things that need to be improved upon and then, on top of that, getting guys healthy,” senior defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe said of what can be gained from the bye week.

UA head coach Nick Saban has broken down how Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) worked about “43%” of its typical game-week routine. Extra days of rest were factored in, including this weekend. Saban said that six players were held out of practice this week due to injury.

Days of practice were dedicated to early scouting for future opponents: LSU on Nov. 4, at Kentucky on Nov. 11, Chattanooga on Nov. 18, at Auburn on Nov. 25. In review and ahead of his 72nd birthday on Halloween, Saban is at his lake house with Miss Terry and will watch practice film, recruiting tape and LSU cut-ups looking out over the water.

Part of that study will be taking another look at LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who’s on pace to be a Heisman Award finalist.

“First of all, the guy’s an outstanding athlete,” Saban said of Daniels. “He’s a dual-threat quarterback. He can run. He can make you miss. He can extend plays. And he’s a really good passer. And they have really good-skill guys on offense. But they have great balance on offense, too. I mean, they run the ball effectively. They’ve got a really good scheme in terms of how they use him to create triple option type of plays that you have to defend, which really helps their running game, not just because he can run but it helps the runners run because of the way you’ve got to defend him on the perimeter.”

Daniels is completing 73.1% of his pass attempts, totaling over 3,000 yards of offense with 30 touchdowns. Daniels, listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 95 more and another score in Tiger Stadium a year ago against the Tide, an LSU overtime win.

Down in Baton Rouge, Brian Kelly’s Tigers have won three games in a row, producing 49, 48 and 62 points behind Daniels and 6-foot-1 wideout Malik Nabers. LSU’s last loss came in a thrilling 55-49 shootout against Ole Miss on Sept. 30. When previewing the Tide a week early on the SEC teleconference, Kelly noted how Jalen Milroe and the Tide skill position players are “underrated.”

“I think (Milroe) is really much more comfortable within the offensive structure,” Kelly said earlier this week on The Paul Finebaum Show. “He’s clearly now at a point where he’s going to take shots down the field. He has an offensive menu in front of him that he likes and feels comfortable. … I think Coach Rees has done a great job of laying out here are the things we’re going to do and we’re gonna be good at them. I think that’s where they are.”

LSU finished its film review of its blowout win over Army on Monday then, like Alabama, and worked on self-scouting and physical conditioning. This upcoming Monday, which would’ve been used for a game recap, will turn into an extra day of prep for the Tide.

Next Saturday’s matchup is set for 6:45 p.m. CT (CBS) inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].