Alabama football coach Nick Saban said he expects a “tough game” vs. Kentucky on Saturday, and thus is looking for his team to play particularly tough.

Saban spoke to ESPN’s Marty Smith on “SEC Nation” on Saturday morning, some 90 minutes before the Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0 SEC) meets the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3) in Lexington. Mark Stoops and Kentucky are noted for their physical style, focused on a ball-control, running game.

“It’s always important to be the most-physical team, to be the most-disciplined team,” Saban said, “to be able to go out there and execute, do your job well. Whatever the circumstances are, I think those things are really, really important. And be able to play 60 minutes. We just keep playing the next play. We expect a tough game.”

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops also appeared on SEC Nation earlier Saturday, and said he expects Alabama to be just as physical as his team will be.

“You’re playing Alabama, you’re going to get a physical team,” Stoops said. “They have playmakers at every level on both sides of the ball. We have to match that intensity, match that physicality. You’ve got to execute in critical moments as well.”

Alabama has won seven straight games since its only loss of the season in Week 2 to Texas, and played poorly in a 17-3 victory at South Florida. Saban said his team continues to show “resiliency.”

“They’ve had a lot of resiliency in terms of the way they’ve competed, the way they play, the way they prepare,” Saban said. “I think that’s helped the confidence and helped us as a team. But, you know, it doesn’t matter, you’ve got to play good in the game you’ve got now. So that’s the focus for us right now.”

Saban was also asked about Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe, who is coming off arguably the best game of his career last week vs. LSU. Milroe ran for 155 yards and four touchdowns and also passed for 219 yards in a 42-28 victory over the Tigers in Tuscaloosa.

“I think he’s learned to play one play at a time and stay focused on what he has to do on that play,” Saban said. “He’s done a really good job of executing. I think his confidence level has gone up and I think the people around him are playing better. So that’s also helpful too.”

Stoops noted Milroe’s season-long improvement as well.

“I think you could just see that with every rep, with every game, his confidence building, the team rallying around him,” Stoops said. “… Just the confidence level, seeing those reps in the game, when to pull it down, buy time to throw the ball down the field or pull it down to make explosive yards, he could do it all. They’re definitely playing at a higher level.”

Kickoff for Alabama-Kentucky is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.