Coach Nick Saban doesn't expect relief from lineup of open-date opponents

Nick Saban is a powerful man in Alabama and the SEC, but he sounded resigned to his fate Tuesday concerning a 2010 schedule filled with opponents who will meet the Tide coming off open dates.
"I don't see any changes right now that are going to affect it in any way," Saban said during a stop in Mobile with UA's Crimson Caravan. "It is what it is."
Six of Alabama's SEC opponents will have two weeks to prepare for the Tide in 2010, although Alabama also has an open date before one of those games, LSU. Saban said it's uncertain what effect such a schedule will have on his team's attempt to repeat as SEC and national champions.
"Nobody knows for sure if a bye week helps your team or not," he said. "Sometimes when you're playing well, you'd rather not have a bye week. Sometimes when your team's a little tired and beat up, a bye week's advantageous.
"We would definitely like to have a full week to prepare against every team that we play. Right now we have one team that we play on a short week, Auburn, and we'd like to get our schedule fixed around so that's not an issue for us."
Tuesday night's invitation-only dinner at the Battle House Hotel was the last of nine stops around the South for the Crimson Caravan, which also included events in Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans and Nashville.
Saban also appeared in Daphne on Tuesday to accept the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award from the United States Sports Academy, recognizing him as the coach of the year.