After passing its opening SEC test with a 24-10 victory over Ole Miss, No. 12 Alabama will take part in its first conference road game this week as it travels to take on Mississippi State on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT inside Wade Davis Stadium.
The Crimson Tide (3-1, 1-0) is a 14.5-point favorite entering the matchup and holds a 15-game winning streak against the Bulldogs (2-2).
Here’s a full transcript of what Nick Saban had to say during his Monday press conference as well as my takes on his comments.
Opening statement
"Obviously, this was a great win for our team, really proud of the way the guys came out and competed in the second half. Played a lot better in the second half than we had a couple times in the first half where we sort of self-destructed a little bit with the way we executed and some of the things that we did and sort of eliminated some of those things in the second half and played much cleaner. I think played the way we would like to continue to play and hopefully build on that. Sort of show the players today when we watch the film, here's the reason that worked and here's the reason it didn't work. Whether it's offense, defense, special teams or whatever. That's the way you actually can have a chance to get better."
Tony’s take: The game against Ole Miss served as an opportunity for Alabama to learn from its mistakes without suffering a defeat. The Crimson Tide struggled to move the ball in the red zone and made a few costly errors in the first half, but was able to rebound after the break to outscore the Rebels 18-3 in the second half.
On Mississippi State
"This is the first SEC road game. This is actually a bigger challenge for us than the last two games in my opinion, in terms of this team is very physical, very aggressive on defense, create a lot of negative plays, got a lot of starters back. They know their system. They know their scheme. They play very, very well. Zach Arnett, it's his system, he's a very good defensive coach. As the head coach he's done a really good job there. Obviously the quarterback has been an outstanding player for a long time, but with the new offense that they run, there's a lot more balance in it. They've got two really good backs that are very, very productive when they run the football. They've got a really, really good receiver, No. 5 Griffin, who is very, very productive. They made a lot of explosive plays, throw for 250 yards or so in the passing game. They play really good on special teams so this is an overall, really, really good team and it's going to be a real challenge for us playing on the road in the SEC to play against this team, this week. This is something that our players have to really focus on and do a great job in preparation so we can eliminate some of these things that have happened in games whether they're drive-stoppers or giving up the big play or whatever it is, we got to eliminate those things."
Tony’s take: Yes, you read that correctly. Saban said Mississippi State is a bigger challenge than the Ole Miss team Alabama defeated over the weekend.
Maybe Saban is trying to make sure his players stay alert for the matchup. Maybe this was a subtle shot at Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin following his antics last week. Either way, other than this game being the first road SEC test, it shouldn’t be that difficult for the Crimson Tide.
Mississippi is 2-2 with wins over Southeastern Louisiana (48-7) and Arizona (31-24) and losses to LSU (41-14) and South Carolina (37-30).
The Bulldogs rank No. 122 out of 133 Division I teams in passing defense, allowing 280 yards per game through the air. Over two SEC games, they’ve allowed South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to complete a combined 48 of 54 (88.9%) passes for 649 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. That’s almost as many touchdowns as incomplete passes.
As for Mississippi State’s offense, it has a decent quarterback in Will Rogers, who has completed 60.7% of his passes for 979 yards six touchdowns and an interception through four games. However, the Bulldgogs rank in the middle of the pack among Division I teams, averaging 30.8 points and 385.5 total yards per game.
On Terrion Arnold's growth
"I think he's more confident. I think that he has less like mental lapses. I think the biggest thing that contributes to that is better knowledge of the defense, better knowledge of what to do, how to do it, why it's important to do it that way and thee confidence that comes with that allows you to play fast and focus on the right things. I think he's played a lot better this year because of those things."
Tony’s take: Arnold put in his best performance of the season against Ole Miss, leading the team with eight tackles and a pair of pass breakups while recording his first interception of the season. According to Pro Football Focus, the redshirt sophomore held Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart to a 29.3 NFL quarterback rating, allowing three receptions for 53 yards on seven balls thrown his way.
On Elijah Pritchett and Terrence Ferguson
"Both guys did OK. I think there was some things we'd like to finish better. I think the big point of emphasis with our offensive line is gotta get your second step in the ground, gotta get your hands inside so that we can finish blocks. That would be the case with both of those guys. But it also is sort of an overall evaluation of what we need to do to get better on the offensive line.
Tony’s take: Pritchett and Ferguson both performed decently after coming off the bench against Ole Miss. Pritchett saw the field for 14 offensive snaps while subbing in for Kadyn Proctor at left tackle. Ferguson played in eight offensive snaps, coming in for Darrian Dalcourt at right guard before leaving with an ankle injury right before the half.
Ferguson’s injury could keep him out a while, but Pritchett is in a position to compete for the starting role at left tackle if Proctor doesn’t begin to improve.
On WR Jalen Hale
"He did a good job, made some big plays. I think the big thing with Jalen being a young player is, you’ve got to know what to do on every play so you can go play fast and do your job. So we need to work hard with him to try to get him to where he needs to be and make sure that he’s out there playing with confidence and a good understanding of the overall system of what we’re trying to get done on each and every play."
Tony’s take: It’s hard to break into Alabama’s deep receiving rotation, but Hale has been quietly earning some playing time. The freshman saw a season-high 19 offensive snaps against the Rebels, leading the team with 63 receiving yards on two receptions, including his first college touchdown on a 33-yard pass from Milroe. As Saban said, Hale still has some learning to do, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him leading Alabama’s receiving corps one day.
On who will step up at LB if Deontae Lawson is unable to go
"We played most of the game this last game with Jihaad [Campbell] playing, and Trezmen [Marshall] playing. That’ll be the way that we go. Obviously, the depth at that position is going to become critical for us if Deontae can’t go. And we’ll keep working with these guys and try to get them ready to go this week.”
Tony’s take: Saban side-stepped providing a timeline for Lawson’s recovery after the starting linebacker suffered an ankle injury over the weekend. If Lawson needs tightrope surgery on his ankle, he’ll likely be out a few weeks. That won’t necessarily hurt too much against Mississippi State but could be more of a problem as Alabama faces travels to Texas A&M before hosting Arkansas and Tennessee next month.
On Robbie Ouzts' bigger role in the offense
"You know I think that we trust the guy to do what he’s supposed to do. He’s done a really good job of executing during the games and doing the things that he needs to do for us to have success on plays. That kind of dependability is important. You can say what you want to say, you can be better than somebody else, but you’ve got to play better. I think that’s the thing that Robbie’s doing is he’s playing better. Because he’s doing what he’s supposed to do, he understands what he’s supposed to do and he’s been very effective in doing it."
Tony’s take: Ouzts made his first start of the season against Ole Miss, taking part in a season-high 33 offensive snaps. While the 6-foot-4, 258-pound tight end has just two catches for 26 yards over four games, he serves as a nice blocker on running plays.
On his relationship with Mike Leach
"Well, you know I loved Mike Leach. He was different, but in a good way. Obviously he presented an offensive system or scheme, whatever you want to call it or name it that was unique and very challenging, but he believed in it and kind of did it his way. I always had a tremendous amount of respect for him as a coach but really liked him as a person."
Tony’s take: Saban and Leach were polar opposites when it came to personality. However, Saban has stated his respect and admiration several times for the late Mississippi State head coach.
On Alabama lining up in the shotgun on 1st and goal from the 1
"There's a lot of thought about that. It was not smart on our part to do what we did, and we get a bad snap after all that. I'm not defending anybody, but with better execution, we shouldn't snap the ball over the quarterback's head and we've got to get on the same page with the snap count. I agree with you that, at a time when it's first and 1 on the 1, why do we need to be in (shotgun)?"
Tony’s takes: It’s obvious Saban wasn’t a fan of Tommy Rees’ decision to go out of a shotgun formation on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line against Ole Miss.
One advantage Alabama has from last year is that Milroe (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) is quite a bit bigger than Bryce Young (5-foot-10, 194 pounds). The Crimson Tide can use that extra muscle on short-yardage situations as Milroe has the strengths to lineup behind center and drive through a pile of defenders for yardage.
Later in the game, Alabama ran a pair of quarterback sneaks with Milroe under center. That’s likely the approach the Crimson Tide will take moving forward.
On the Alabama/Mississippi State consistent rivalry ending this season
"My focus is on this game. I don't look back at other games. I think there's a time and place to commiserate or celebrate or whatever you want to do relative to rivalries and the changing environment and landscape of college football. But to me, everything is about this game, our team, trying to get our team better, and get our team to play winning football against a good team. I don't have a lot of thoughts or spend a lot of time, at this time, thinking about those kinds of things."
Tony’s take: Translation: Saban doesn’t care about the sentimentality surrounding this being the last year in consecutive series between Alabama and Mississippi. At least not at the moment. While Saban is busy focusing on the present, it’s worth noting that the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will meet for the 76th consecutive season. That streak will be snapped next year when Alabama’s new divisionless schedule comes into effect.
On Dallas Turner's role
"Dallas has always been a really good player for us. A guy who works hard in practice every day, tries to do everything he's coached to do. The team is important to him, he's been a good leader on the team. Sometimes you're fortunate to get sacks, sometimes you do a great job of affecting the quarterback and you don't get sacks. Affecting the quarterback is probably a more important stat than actually sacking the quarterback. And how we can do that as a group is really, really important. Obviously, Dallas, Bras [Braswell] and the other guys all contribute to that, but they all contribute to each other when they do get sacks. Whether somebody else pressures the guy and makes the quarterback move, gives you the opportunity. Whether you beat your guy one on one, or whether we have some kind of a pressure on that gives you an opportunity to get a one on one and have a sack, so some of those things, they happen, they're not predictable, but when you have players that do the right things and work hard all the time and have really good ability, the chances of it happening for them are a lot greater."
Tony’s take: Turner has been hot lately, recording multiple sacks in each of the past two weeks. The five-star edge rusher now leads the SEC and is tied for third nationally with 4.5 sacks through four games. While the sack totals are beginning to build, Saban provided a nice reminder that Turner and the rest of the Tide’s pass rushers can be effective even when they aren’t bringing down opposing quarterbacks.
For example, Turner had four pressures in the season opener but didn’t record a sack due to how fast Middle Tennessee got rid of the football.
