Monday signifies a new week for Alabama, a welcome sight after falling to Tennessee on Saturday. Here are the highlights from Saban's Monday press conference.
— "After watching the film, this is kind of a collective loss by our team. I don't think we played the way we wanted to play, for sure."
— Saban said on the last five plays of the game the team didn't execute. "We can talk about running the ball, but we dropped a pass and the clock would be running and we would be closer."
— "This is something from the bottom up. I'm talking about coaches. I'm talking about players. I'm talking about me. We all have to do a better job to help these guys learn from their mistakes and improve and get better."
— Saban: "Mississippi State's an outstanding team. Mike Leach is one of the most difficult guys offensively to try to defend."
— Saban on which penalties have caused the most issues: "We've been harping on pass interference, to keep our hands off of people. ... We've just gotta do a better job of timing up the swat."
— Saban said he didn't get an explanation on why the referees didn't call targeting on Bryce Young. "We turn the plays in. I'm sure the league office will look at it and make a determination."
— Saban said the team was "tight" when it started the game. "Coming out of the locker room, our players weren't even chanting. I said, 'Why aren't you guys chanting? What's up with that?'
— Saban: "No one is entitled to a position."
— Saban on the hits on Young: "He's a great competitor and he's a good leader on the team. We need to do a better job of protecting him and we certainly don't want him to get hit. Can we do that 100%? Sometimes he scrambles and runs and gets hit. ... But it's why he is a great player, so I don't know how to change that."
— "We can't continue to tolerate guys that aren't doing the things they need to do to be successful. Nobody's entitled to a position. Everybody's earned the position that they're in by showing they have the capability and ability to do it on a consistent basis."