LSU appeared to respond to Kim Mulkey’s decision to bring in iconic college football head coach Nick Saban as the Tigers bludgeoned Northwestern State.

Mulkey’s fourth season in charge of LSU started with a 95-44 win over Eastern Kentucky. The No. 7 Tigers – without WNBA star Angel Reese – were preparing to face the Demons at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center when Mulkey decided her team could use advice from Saban.

On Friday, Saban stopped by to link up with Mulkey’s team as he was in Baton Rouge for ESPN “College GameDay,” which will take place on Saturday morning. His influence seemed to inspire the Tigers; LSU secured a crushing 95-36 win over Northwestern State.

Flau’jae Johnson starred, scoring a game-high 21 points along with five rebounds and two assists. Mikaylkah Williams added 14 points while Kailyn Gilbert contributed 11.

Speaking hours before tip-off, Saban said: “I would say the most important thing for everybody here is how can you create the most value for yourself? [How can you create the most value] by the choices you make as a person, as a student, and as a player? All of those things are going to help you become more successful in life.

“When I was here as a coach, and when I was in Alabama as a coach, it was about how can we help our players be more successful in life because they were involved in the program?”

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Nick Saban spoke to LSU women's basketball team ahead of their second game of the season

Nick Saban spoke to LSU women’s basketball team ahead of their second game of the season ( 

Image:

AP)

Saban then ratcheted his speech up a notch, bellowing: “I know winning is important, but being able to stay focused on the things that help you win, which is what I call ‘The Process,’ is more important than anything. Then, you transfer that into your life, you’ll have a tremendous amount of success and then you’ll be happy and self-fulfilled, and I think that’s the most important thing.

He added: “I’m going to watch how you guys do. I still root for LSU all the time- except for when they’re playing Alabama.”

Saban became LSU’s 31st head coach in 1999. The 73-year-old coached the Tigers to a national championship in 2003 before heading to the NFL to take over as Miami Dolphins head coach ahead of the 2005 season.

In 2007, Saban assumed his position at Alabama, where he won six national championships before retiring after the 2023 season. His seven national championships are more than any other coach in college football Division I history.

The 2-0 Tigers take on winless Charleston Southern in their next game on Tuesday, Nov. 12.