It's widely assumed the Iron Bowl is the game Alabama cares about more than any other. After all, it's an obsession in this state 24/7, 365 days a year.

But Nick Saban says the contest the Crimson Tide plays on the third Saturday in October means even more to the members of the team. Prompted by a caller who was peering ahead to Alabama's matchup with Tennessee on Oct. 15, Saban made that admission Thursday on his weekly radio show, "Hey Coach."

"I think you get very quickly a feel for what your own players on your own team, even that were here before you came here, what's important to them," Saban said. "And it was very obvious to me that the Tennessee game was always the biggest game. It was always the biggest game for us. That's no disrespect to Auburn or the great Iron Bowl rivalries. But to our players and a lot of our fans, the Tennessee game, because of the tradition of the game, [is important], so it didn't take long to figure that out."

Saban, who is not one to look ahead, failed to make note of the fact the Tide has never lost to the Volunteers since he became the coach in 2007. As expected, he quickly shifted the conversation back to Kentucky, that other SEC East team Alabama plays this Saturday.