The men calling the plays Saturday when Alabama has the ball and Western Kentucky is on defense have known each other for quite awhile.

Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and Tops defensive coordinator Nick Holt coached together at USC under Pete Carroll a decade ago.

Kiffin was a Trojans assistant from 2001-06, including a stint from 2005-06 as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Holt coached USC’s linebackers from 2001-03 and, after two years as head coach at Idaho, went back to Los Angeles as the Trojans’ defensive coordinator/defensive line coach from 2006-08.

Holt and the Hilltoppers will head south this weekend to Tuscaloosa, Ala. WKU (1-0) and Kiffin’s top-ranked Crimson Tide (1-0) will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday from Bryant-Denny Stadium in a game televised on ESPN2.

“Not that we talk all the time, but we keep in touch when we can,” Holt said. “We’re both busy and we always wish him the best.”

Holt and Kiffin’s time together included USC’s 2003 AP national championship.

Kiffin’s coaching career since his days as a USC assistant has included some ups and downs. He’s been head coach of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders and has led college programs at Tennessee and then USC.

After being fired by the Trojans during the 2013 season, Kiffin landed in Tuscaloosa as coach Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator.

Kiffin developed offenses that went to the College Football Playoff in 2014 and then won the CFP national title last season. His offense was effective last week in a 52-6 season-opening win against his former employer, USC, in Arlington, Texas.

Holt, who’s been defensive coordinator at WKU since 2013, called Kiffin “a fantastic football coach.”

“You can tell by the way the offense plays,” Holt said. “They have really good concepts, they have really good schemes and the people that he coaches, the wide receivers and the quarterbacks, they do a great job. … They’re a fun team to watch.”

Brohm makes appearance on Paul Finebaum Show

With WKU’s game against No. 1 Alabama on Saturday comes a little more media attention than usual this week for the Hilltoppers.

That included a segment Wednesday with WKU coach Jeff Brohm on the Paul Finebaum Show.

Brohm was asked about his team on the nationally televised college football talk show ahead of its trip to Tuscaloosa.

“We know it’ll be a great challenge and the only thing we have going for us is we have a bunch of young, eager, energetic guys on our team that carry a chip on their shoulder,” Brohm told the host Finebaum. “They’re out to prove to people that they’ve been overlooked in the recruiting process.

“They’re willing to take on this challenge and I think we’ve got to go into it, we’ve got to embrace it.”

Brohm echoed many of his statements from his Monday news conference, saying his team isn’t “blind” to the challenge of the nation’s top team.

The Toppers’ third-year coach also talked about how his team can’t afford to make mistakes if it’s to keep the game within striking distance into the second half. WKU, a 28½-point underdog, lost 35-0 in its last trip to Tuscaloosa in 2012.

Brohm was asked by co-host Marcus Spears about the Hilltopper offense, which went wild in a 46-14 season-opening win Thursday against Rice.

WKU’s offense amassed 649 total yards against the Owls, which ranks eighth nationally, and averaged 9.98 yards per play from scrimmage, tops in the nation.

“Well, we definitely try to have a lot of fun on the offensive side of the football,” Brohm said. “We take a lot of pride in being creative and running trick plays and doing a lot of things to make the game fun, not only to play but also to watch.

“We’ve kind of had a history of that the last couple of years and had some success with it.”

White hits trifecta with Davey O’Brien “Great 8” List

WKU quarterback Mike White was honored Wednesday for the third time in three days, as he was named to the Davey O’Brien “Great 8” list for his 517-yard passing performance in the 46-14 season-opening win vs. Rice.

White earned Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors Monday and was recognized as a Manning Award “Star of the Week” on Tuesday.

White is one of only three players in the nation (JT Barrett of Ohio State and Greg Ward, Jr. of Houston) to accomplish the trifecta of winning conference offensive player of the week, to go along with being named a Manning Award “Star of the Week” and a Davey O’Brien “Great 8” member.

After Week 1 of the season, White leads the country in passing yards (517) and yards per pass attempt (16.7), while ranking second in passer rating (252.67).

White’s performance shattered his previous career high in passing yards (311), while he tied a career best with three touchdown throws.

One of the “Great 8” will be announced as the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week on Thursday.

Former WKU quarterback Brandon Doughty was named to the Davey O’Brien preseason watch list prior to the 2015 season. He was the first Hilltopper ever to be recognized by the committee.

– Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @BradBGDN or visit bgdailynews.com.