Saban dismisses media expectations, doesn't want players taking Arkansas lightly

Alabama is heavily favored in its upcoming matchup with Arkansas, but the last thing Nick Saban wants is for his players and fans to take the game lightly.

Saban addressed the expectations of his team Thursday during his radio show, and took specific aim at how lopsided the media is projecting Saturday's game to be, according to Christopher Walsh of SEC Country.

The 63-year-old made waves earlier in the week for saying the media provides his team with "rat poison" in the form of bloated expectations, and Thursday's comments reflected a similar attitude.

"No disrespect to anybody in the media, but you all make some assumptions that turn out to be incorrect," Saban said.

"For people to make assumptions that the other team doesn't have a chance and for our players to hear that, that's not good."

Saban went on to say that he believes his team took a step backwards in regards to its identity in its win over Texas A&M last week, and clearly does not want his players to gain a false sense of security over media-generated hype.