Quick Hit: Disappointed Nick Saban Takes Another Stunning Loss at Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. — Nick Saban used a version of the word "disappointing" six times during the introductory comments of his postgame press conference following Alabama's 48-45 loss at Auburn on Saturday.
“Well, you know, I really think that that was a heck of a game," he said. "I think that you’ve got to give our players a lot of credit for the way they competed in the game. They obviously overcame a lot of adversity in the game. Two pick-sixes for them. Gave up some big plays on defense, but our players kept battling back in the game, to give ourselves an opportunity to tie the game, we got a chance to get the ball back at the end of the game.
"I really feel it was a pretty unfair play at the end of the game. They substituted a punter as a wide receiver, so we put the punt team in. And then when the quarterback was still in there, we tried to put the defense back in. I thought they should’ve given us a little more time to substitute and get [Jaylen] Waddle out as a returner. We get called for 12 guys on the field. So, that was very disappointing. We’re responsible for that as coaches, but it was a very unusual circumstance, to say the least. And I think sometimes when you have those, they should be viewed that way.
“The disappointing thing to me is we came here with the idea that we needed to play with a lot of discipline, not get a lot of penalties, do a great job of executing and doing our job on a consistent basis, people holding and being accountable so that we can get the kind of execution that we’d like to get and people make decisions through their discipline that’s going to put the team first and help enhance the team’s chances of being successful. And I don’t think we did that great. We got way too many penalties, put ourselves in too many bad situations. Certainly moved the ball well enough, struggled in the red zone a little bit. Obviously, when you have the ball on the 2-yard line and you throw a pick-six and they go back 98 yards, that’s a huge play in the game. But we still battled back, even after that.
"We just didn’t play well enough. You have to give their team credit because they fought back and did a great job in the game, as well.
"So very, very disappointing. I know our fans are disappointed, but I can promise you that our players are disappointed, and we’re all very, very disappointed. It’s my responsibility to get our team to do these things better, and that certainly will be the goal in the future.”
When Saban was asked for specifics on why the illegal substitution penalty was so unusual, he said:
“When somebody puts the punter in, you usually put the punt return team in, OK. So, the punter came in but he came in and played wide receiver, OK. So, as soon as we see the guy going on the field, we put the punt return team in. But then they were just staying in a formation, I think probably, just to let the clock run down and probably call timeout or take a penalty to get as much time off the clock as possible.
"But then when we saw the quarterback was behind center — which they can quick kick, as well, which they did earlier in the game — we tried to put the defense back on, and we didn’t have any problems subbing anybody but Waddle was deep. He was a little late getting off. We were trying to get his attention to get him off and he didn’t get off fast enough, so he was the 12th guy that they penalized us for. But they did sub, so they should give us time to sub in those situations, and whether they did or didn’t, that’s not my call."
