Nick Saban has a different sort of task this week. Instead of preparing his team for a game where many expected it to lose, a 2:30 p.m. CBS game in College Station against Texas A&M, Alabama football is favored by nearly three touchdowns against Arkansas.

The game is at 11 a.m. and serves as UA’s homecoming. During his regular Thursday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban discussed how he has tried to keep his players mindset steady, whether national perception of the Crimson Tide is as a national title contender, or a dead dynasty, depending on the week.

“It’s almost like being in show business in a way,” Saban said. “You audition for a part, and you either get the part or you don’t, but the next time you audition, you gotta do the same thing, whether you got the part the last time or not. So whether you won the game the last time or not. Because in show business, you’re only as good as your last game, you’re only as good as your last play and it’s certainly that way in sports.”

Saban explained that he wants his team to bring that mindset practice, noting how many pro scouts come watch the Tide prepare for games. He said those scouts are looking for a reason not to pick players, so Alabama’s need to do things right all the time.

He also pointed out that the job isn’t finished yet.

“If you bench press 180 pounds, and your goal to bench press 300 pounds, you don’t want to stop when you get to 250,” Saban said. “You want to keep working toward that goal and keep climbing the mountain and that’s what we’re trying to get our players to be able to do.”

McAfee asked Saban about the difficulties of readying his team for the early kickoff, its first of the season. The coach echoed a point he made earlier in the week on that subject.

“We just try to get the players to understand that when your feet hit the ground on Saturday, because it’s an early game, you gotta be ready to go,” Saban said. “Your whole thought process has to change. You gotta speed it up. You don’t have the same sort of routine that you normally would go through to play in an afternoon or night game, so this is really important that players understand that, so you get off to a good start in games like this. It’s not a great time to be playing, but we’re gonna make the best of it.”

Later on, Saban was asked by former coach Chuck Pagano what his favorite part of coaching modern college football is. He said it was the relationships he made with UA’s players.

“Coaching is teaching,” Saban said. “Teaching is the ability to inspire learning. The thing that I like the most about coaching is relationships with the players, trying to teach them to be a better version of themselves. Whether it’s personally, academically or, obviously in coaching, it’s athletically on the field.”

He also went into the most disappointing element of his job, which fell in the same area.

“When you have a guy that has ability and you want him to sort of improve and take advantage of that ability that he has the talent that god has given him, and he doesn’t want it as bad as you want it,” Saban said. “That’s one of the most frustrating things I think.”

Alabama’s game with Arkansas will be aired on ESPN.

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