It's not about being ranked No. 1.
It's not about playing a cupcake FCS team in Western Carolina.
For Alabama, this Saturday can mean one of two things, said coach Nick Saban.
Do you want to take advantage of the opportunity you have created for yourself or do you just want to do what you have to do to go on and win the next game?" he said.
Focus, Saban explained, is like momentum. Lose it and it's difficult to get back.
"If I say 'what do we have to do to win this game,' I might think, 'Well, I don't have to practice as hard this week. The guy's not quite as big as what I'm used to having to play against, or whatever,'" he said. "Are you going to get better that way or not? Taking advantage of the opportunity that you have is much bigger than that. ... The major thing for me is stay focused on what you need to do to improve, so you take advantage of the opportunity. And that's for every player."
With that said, what areas do need to improve?
The final score on Saturday should be outrageous, but what should people hope to see from Alabama as it gears up for an enormous showdown the following weekend against Auburn?
More consistency from Blake Sims: It's been an up-and-down season for the quarterback. One week he's completing between 65-70 percent of his passes, the next week he's in the 50s. Against LSU, he was a paltry 20-for-45 passing. Of course, he followed that up with a solid 19-for-31 performance against Mississippi State. But that is the point. Sims needs to keep his accuracy up for consecutive weeks and show heading into the Iron Bowl that he can maintain a firm hold on the offense for all four quarters.
Keep getting other receivers involved: It has become a broken record, but Sims needs to expand the offense to receivers not named Amari Cooper. The more looks he gives the defense, the better. And in recent weeks, he has done that. Against LSU, Christion Jones, DeAndrew White and O.J. Howard each had three receptions. The following week against Mississippi State, White had four more catches and ArDarius Stewart had two, showing off the kind of breakaway speed that reminded some of Kenyan Drake.
Continue to pressure the quarterback: Alabama's defense did a fantastic job stuffing the run and getting into the backfield against LSU and Mississippi State. But it's hard to shake the sight of Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs running for 75 yards against the Tide four weeks ago. Might that be a prelude to what Auburn's Nick Marshall will do? Time will tell, but in the meantime Alabama's defense gets a good warm-up in Western Carolina quarterback Troy Mitchell, who has run for 572 yards and six touchdowns this season.
The kicking game: Yes, we're talking about field goals. Though that might sound outrageous since Alabama should have no trouble finding the end zone against Western Carolina, it might do a world of good for Adam Griffith to see a few kicks split the uprights. After all, since starting the season 7-for-7, he has gone 5-for-11, including 1-for-4 on kicks of 40 or more yards.