Nick Saban Looks Back on 2022 Crimson Tide Season; Explains What Went Wrong

"They were so anxious that their preparation did not always equate to good performance in the game," Saban said on College Gameday.

Dec 31, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2022 Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images / Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images

Nick Saban, in his appearance on College Gameday this week, spoke on what can hold talented teams back from reaching their full potential. The legendary coach brought up a recent example from his own career, giving insight to the 2022 Crimson Tide season and how things went wrong for Alabama.

Responding to a question from Kirk Herbstreit regarding the emotional swings of a lengthy season, Saban said, "The biggest thing is how you can have a consistent mindset on your team (...) Complacency creates a blatant disregard for doing what is right, but on the other hand you have teams with tremendous expectations. Our 2022 team with Bryce Young and Will Anderson had great expectations, but they were so anxious that their preparation did not always equate to good performance in the game."

Nov 12, 2022; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban watches as quarterback Bryce Young (9) passes the ball during warm up prior to the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

"They worked hard, they had the right focus, but they had so much anxiety about being afraid to make a mistake or not do the right thing that I think it affected their performance, so I felt like I did a poor job of maintaining that balance on the team," Saban continued, "Because sometimes you gotta go out there and just let it loose and have fun."

Many Crimson Tide fans likely remember the result of the 2022 season in which Alabama entered with arguably the nation's most talented roster, and certainly its most quarterback and pass rusher. but failed to reach the National Championship, instead dropping two regular season rivalry games and missing out on the College Football Playoff.