Jim Harbaugh, Nick Saban making last-minute preparations for the Rose Bowl

LOS ANGELES — ‘Twas the night before the Rose Bowl, and all through LA, the coaches were prepping their team for the big game.

Sunday marked 24 hours before Michigan football and Alabama set to kick off in the granddaddy of them all with the winner getting the rights to play in the national championship game. Certainly, it’s no time to relax, especially if you’re Jim Harbaugh or Nick Saban, the respective head coaches.

At their Sunday morning joint press conference, both had their minds on final preparations for their teams. Even though there would be some leisure time for Michigan, Harbaugh stressed the importance of getting both the mind and body right on the eve of the big game.

“The hay is never in the barn for us. We never think of it that way. Things to clean up, polishing the diamond as we like to say, make the most of this day,” Harbaugh said. “Tonight we’ll get together, watch a movie, talk to the team, different things like that. Kind of get the red blood pumping a little bit so you can visualize it. Then go to sleep and see how good of a night’s sleep you can get.

“Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. We really stressed a good night’s sleep last night. Kind of feel like that’s the sleep you play on. Got a darned good one last night. Anything tonight will just be a bonus.”

Unsurprisingly, the best college football coach in the modern era of the sport is a bit more businesslike. Though Harbaugh’s mind is certainly centered on football, he’s giving his players a little bit more of a reprieve the night before the game. Saban’s mind was more on continuing to stress the game plan in order to hone his team’s execution come game day.

“I think trying to create the right mindset in the last 48 hours leading up to the game, to really focus on execution, because we have a plan….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jim-harbaugh-nick-saban-making-181535891.html

Author : Wolverines Wire

Publish date : 2023-12-31 18:15:35

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