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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama won’t have the chance to play for a conference title and will need a bit more help to compete for a national championship. However, the Crimson Tide locked up bragging rights for the next 365 days with a 49-27 victory over Auburn on Saturday.
Following the game, Nick Saban spoke to reporters, praising his team for how it responded to naysayers over the past month. Here’s a transcript of the press conference and my takes on what he had to say.
On the bruise on his face
“Before you ask, you oughta see the other guy. You know, I took one of the hardest hits of the entire game, and unlike some of our players who had to go to the medical tent, like I always say, ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to.’”
Tony’s take: Nick Saban too a shoulder pad to the face while on the sideline during the first half of the game. Of course, that didn’t seem to slow down the 71-year-old one bit.
Opening statement
“I was really proud of our team, this whole season actually. To win 10 games, to go through a rough patch when Bryce was hurt, now he’s healthy again which makes us a different type of team I think. It’s a great win to win in the Iron Bowl. For our players, it’s great that they won 10 games.
“But I think one of the things I’m most proud of is the fact that when everybody thought they were out of it and there was a lot of naysayers out there, that this team didn’t give up on themselves. They didn’t give up on each other. They kept fighting and won some tough games to finish the season. So I’m really proud of the fact that everyone hung in there, stayed together and continued to try and get better. And we’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of guys miss some time, so it gave other people opportunities. But I’m really proud of the way we finished.
“I know I got asked about the playoffs out there, but unbeknownst to me, I didn’t know who won, who lost or anything else. It’s a great opportunity for our team to be considered. We lost two games on the road against two top-10 teams by four points, so we are a good football team and hopefully people will recognize that.”
Tony’s take: Saban seemed genuinely proud of the way his team responded over the last month. It would have been easy for his players to pack it up, but the team gritted out a tough win at Ole Miss before recording back-to-back blowouts against Austin Peay and Auburn. Regardless of whether or not this team makes the playoff, it has given itself an opportunity to end the season on a high note.
As for Alabama’s playoff hopes, get used to hearing this line on repeat over the next week: “We lost two games on the road against two top-10 teams by four points.” Alabama will be hoping the committee views its two close losses to Tennessee and LSU better than Ohio State’s one blowout defeat to Michigan.
On if he’ll campaign for a playoff spot
“Look, I think it will help our team, I’ll certainly do that. I haven’t thought about it to this point. My whole focus was ‘win this game.’ That’s the best opportunity we have for anything good to happen to us. To win the Iron Bowl is a significant accomplishment for our team and for our fans, which we certainly appreciate. And for this team to win 10 games. I haven’t really thought about any of those things beyond that. I’m really proud of our players because I don’t think they were thinking about anything except that as well.
Tony’s take: I fully expect Nick Saban to campaign for his team. Why wouldn’t he? As I said before, the real debate comes down between Alabama and Ohio State if either TCU or Southern California loses next week. I don’t love Alabama’s chances in that debate, but Saban will do his best to plead his team’s case.
On Alabama’s big passing plays
“Well, we did a lot of quality control before this game to break every tendency that we had. We did some different formations, different presentations of things that we did, different play-action passes, and it paid off for us. I think being able to run the ball a little effectively early kind of set up some of those things from a play-action standpoint, and Bryce played really well. I thought the receivers played well. A couple balls we could have caught. There was a tough interception down there at the end of the game. We could have iced the game right then, but all and all, I thought the offense did a really good job.”
Tony’s take: Alabama completed four passes of 20 or more yards against Auburn. That included a 52-yard reception from Jermaine Burton as well as a 32-yard touchdown to Ja’Corey Brooks. The Crimson Tide has been looking to develop more of a downfield threat all season. It might be a little late at this point, but it’s still encouraging to see the offense open up a little more.
On Bryce Young and Will Anderson
“I think those two guys not only have been great players for the University of Alabama, they’ve been great leaders for our team. They’ve been great ambassadors for this university, and the way they’ve represented themselves and they’ve set a marvelous example for any upcoming young person who plays sports to emulate them in terms of how they go about what they do, the class and character that they have. I couldn’t be prouder of two guys in terms of what they contributed, but also how they represented our program and university.”
Tony’s take: If you were making a Mount Rushmore of Alabama players, Anderson and Young would be two of the most worthy players to be included in it. Both players stood out on and off the field and encapsulated everything the program stands for.
On Bryce Young persevering through his shoulder injury
“Well, I tell you what, it was really an example of his grit, his determination, his character and his commitment to the team because he wanted to play for the team. Even those week where he couldn’t throw much in practice, it might have hurt our development a little bit for the rest of the players on our team, but he still went out there and played really, really well, prepared well. And I’m he played with a little pain at times which shows the kind of mental toughness that he has. But the guy’s a great competitor. He has great grit, and I can’t say enough about what he’s done for our team this year.”
Tony’s take: Young’s toughness might get overlooked due to his slight frame, but make no mistake, he’s a warrior. What he has been able to do since injuring his should is remarkable. He might not be the Heisman Trophy winner this season, but he’s still the best quarterback in college football.
On keys to keep focus despite the doubters
“I think that a lot of the naysayers, a lot of the people who were very negative about this team, a lot of the things that were written and said about this team really united the players. They would say things like, ‘This is all we have, but it’s all we need is the people in this room.’
“We have some great fans. We have great fans, a great stadium and a great atmosphere tonight. We appreciate it. I appreciate that, and I know our players do as well. But people who are negative and naysayers, if they support the University of Alabama, you are hurting the university and hurting the program because it’s a reflection on our culture and how positive we are. And this program was built on positive. It was built on 95,000 people coming to the spring game the first spring we were here and everyone wanted to be a part of that. It wasn’t built off of naysayers. It wasn’t built on It wasn’t built on negative. It wasn’t built on expectations that, if we don’t succeed at a certain level, that there’s going to be a lot of criticism. And I think that brought this team together more than anything else. They wanted to persevere and prove what they can do.”
Tony’s take: Saban is proud of his players and is sticking up a bit for them here. Regardless of how things shake out, things haven’t gone as planned for Alabama. Because of that, the Crimson Tide has had to hear about its faults all year. A lot of that criticism may be deserved, but that doesn't make it any easier to endure.
On Auburn’s running game
“I’ll tell you what, Auburn did a great job with the run game. They created some edges. Some of the plays they ran – when I was 10 years old, we ran the single-wing. You guys don’t even know what the single-wing is. But that was my first football (offense). I was the quarterback in the single-wing. But the quarterback doesn’t do anything in the single-wing except block. Some of the plays that they were running with the quarterback, I hadn’t seen them since Pop Warner. And they’re good plays, and they’re hard to defend. Their quarterback played an outstanding game from a run standpoint, and they executed.
“It’s like playing against Wildcat when the running back’s in the backfield and somebody’s gotta go cover the quarterback, except he’s a good enough quarterback to run. And then they created some Wildcat situations, as well. So they really attacked us on the edges and did a good job of cracking and blocking us on the edges. We practiced against some of that stuff. We didn’t execute it as well as we’d like at times, but they also created some advantages for themselves.”
Tony’s take: Auburn is the first team to run for 300 or more yards against Alabama since Georgia Southern ran for 302 yards during the infamous “tin horn” game in 2011. While the Tigers’ rushing attack has been spectacular under interim coach Carnell Williams, Alabama’s run defense was unacceptable Saturday.
On the momentum the offense built
“I think that what we did on offense tonight was really, really good. We always want to improve. We always want to do better. I think we want to continue to feature the players that we have in a very positive way and try to get as many players involved as possible. But we’ve had really good production the past the last two games, and hopefully, we can continue to build on that.”
Tony’s take: Alabama showed nice balance on offense, passing for 343 yards while adding 176 more on the ground. The Crimson Tide was able to hit big plays through the air and maintain consistency on the ground, two things it has struggled with in the past. While there might only be one game remaining this season, that’s still promising moving forward.
On forcing two turnovers
“I think that’s what sort of gave us a lead is the two turnovers. We capitalized on those two things and the good field position on the onside kick really was three kind of opportunities that were created by good field position. We were able to capitalize on those, and I think that was the difference in the game.
“When we got ahead a little bit, they kept running it, and we didn’t tackle very well, which is another issue. On that last run, we must have had five guys miss a tackle, so that’s something we’re going to have to do a better job on as well.
“But I thought the turnovers were huge. Turnovers were always big. They were certainly big tonight, especially early in the game for us to get a lead."
Tony’s take: Speaking of things Alabama is doing better, it recorded multiple turnovers in back-to-back weeks. While both of Auburn’s turnovers were unforced, the Crimson Tide’s intensity and ability to swarm to the ball allowed it to come away with the takeaways.
On everyone being all-in
That’s great. That’s what you need to have a program. That’s what you need is to people to see the culture and the support and the passion that people have to want to have a successful program. I think it’s huge. I think when people are negative and critical it makes people have questions about the culture of the program. The culture of the program here is just as good as it’s always been, and the players compete just as well as they always have. So I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the culture here. We lost two games by four points. Nobody feels worse about that than me and the players, who made a tremendous commitment to win those games in tough places on the road. There’s nothing else I can say about it.”
Tony’s take: As Saban pointed out before, the team did a good job of responding to criticism in recent weeks. This might be a down year for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide likely isn’t as dead as some have depicted.
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