Pat McAfee interview shows expectations back to sky-high for Saban, Alabama

In his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Alabama football coach Nick Saban stuck to his normal talking points, such as about winning one game at a time and focusing on the process instead of the results.

Despite that, McAfee ended the interview with a joke that may indicate this season's Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0 in SEC play) is once again considered an elite program despite a few shaky weeks at the beginning of the year.

"Win by 45 this weekend or we're all going to be disappointed," McAfee told Saban, who shook his head in disagreement before giving a soft chuckle. 

Saban famously hates lofty expectations, dubbing them "rat poison" for his squad, but after last week's win on the road over a stubborn Texas A&M team, it seems the sports world is back to expecting greatness from the coach many consider to be the greatest of all time.

Expectations had dipped for some after a tough loss at home to Texas and myriad struggles in a disappointing win at South Florida, but on Saturday, the Tide is favored over the Arkansas Razorbacks by almost three touchdowns.

"Everybody cast them aside. 'This team stinks.' Now, just a few weeks after that, this team is now a 20-point favorite at home against an SEC team," McAfee noted.

Saban declined to take that "rat poison," instead pointing out Arkansas' strong showings against LSU and Ole Miss and explaining that "every team in the SEC that you play is capable of beating you."

Even when Alabama has been dominant in this dynastic run, Saban has often downplayed his teams' advantages, even when expectations were nothing short of what fans call "joyless murderball": one-sided routs that often have backups getting valuable playing time by the third quarter.

Fans haven't seen it so far this year, even when it was expected in the South Florida game, but if McAfee is right, Saturday could be a welcome return to form for the Crimson Tide.