Will Anderson explains mentality for Alabama heading into Cotton Bowl

It’s officially game week for the Alabama Crimson Tide, facing off against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Cotton Bowl. They will be seeking to become the first team to win back to back national championship since they did so themselves in 2011 and 2012.

Alabama linebacker Will Anderson spoke to the media on Monday and explained the team’s mentality heading into the game. Anderson said despite Vegas seeing them as the favorite, he does not feel that way.

“To me, I still feel like we’re the underdog in this game,” Anderson said. “I mean, all year we’ve been disrespected. Pretty sure we’re still probably getting disrespected out there. But right now we’re not really worried about the external factors, we’re just worried about what’s going on inside the facility, on the practice field and in the meetings and stuff like that. That’s our biggest concern right now, making sure we’re ready and prepared for this game.”

Anderson has had this mentality for a few weeks now. Before the SEC Championship against Georgia, he made similar comments — where Alabama was actual underdogs in the game. With the chip on his shoulder, Anderson recorded six tackles, 2.0 tackles for a loss, and a sack.

Now, another opportunity is there against Cincinnati. Anderson has been one of the defensive players in the country this season and will have the chance to prove it on the national scale once again.

Alabama Crimson Tide HC Nick Saban discusses Desmond Ridder

The quarterback Anderson will be rushing on Friday afternoon is Desmond Ridder. Alabama head coach Nick Saban gave his assessment of the Cincinnati signal-caller, having nothing but compliments.

“We have watched him — some from last year’s games — we certainly watched the Georgia game which I think they did an outstanding job against a very good Georgia team, a very good Georgia defense,” Saban told the media on Sunday. “We watched most of their games this year. When you have this extended time period, you have a lot more time to look at what teams have done with their history. But their players do a great job of executing what they do.

“They’ve got a really good offensive scheme. I think it starts with the quarterback,” said Saban. “He’s really smart, he puts them in the right play a lot, he changes the protections, he recognizes what the defense is trying to do and for the most part, does a really good job taking advantage of it. He’s done nothing but play better and better and better this year this year and he continued to develop.”