Nick Saban: Alabama Has to Learn to Beat Opponent, Not Just Win the Game

Alabama is undefeated in SEC play, but the Crimson Tide head coach is still looking for a 60-minute performance.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama was cruising to a victory over Arkansas, looking like the 20-point favorite that it was supposed to be, until it wasn't. 

A sloppy second-half later, the 11th-ranked Crimson Tide held on for the 24-21 win over last-place Arkansas, but Alabama turned what could've been a blowout win into a narrow defeat.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and the players are overall happy with the win and the position it keeps them in. The team still sits atop the SEC West over halfway into the regular season with a 6-1 record (4-0 SEC. 

But if this team is going to compete for championships, it's got to move past this type of performance. 

“I told the team, it’s great to win," Saban said after the game. "It’s great to be where we are in the SEC relative to how we progressed. But there’s a difference between beating the other team, and winning the game." 

Alabama got off to another slow start to open the game, but things started rolling in the second quarter. The Crimson Tide took a 21-6 lead into halftime. 

After a Will Reichard field goal, Alabama held a 24-6 lead with 7:47 left in the third quarter. It would be the last time the Crimson Tide would score. 

Saban took the blame for not motivating his players well at halftime, but quarterback Jalen Milroe said the team started getting complacent with the lead. 

"I think there's a lot of things we've got to build on and learn from this game," Milroe said. "We can’t let it happen again. At the end of the day, we’re not a finished product. We gotta acknowledge that and just keep building and learn from the game today.”

Alabama has put itself in a good position seven games into the season. The team has bounced back from the early loss to Texas and is in a comfortable spot in the conference standings. The Crimson Tide still controls its own destiny in the SEC and on the national stage. 

However, more than halfway through the regular season, the team has yet to put together a complete performance. It got close on the road at Mississippi State, but struggled in the second half of that game as well. Last week at Texas A&M, Alabama showed flashes of potential in the passing game and had a solid performance on defense, but the Crimson Tide couldn't run the ball in and allowed a late score from the Aggies. 

In weeks three and four against USF and Ole Miss, Alabama outscored its opponents 32-3 in the second half, but had horrendous first halves offensively in both games. 

So what is it going to take for Alabama to make the switch from just winning the game to beating the opponent? Well, according to Saban and players, competing with intensity for 60 minutes is a good place to start.

"We’re happy we got the win, but we’re not satisfied at all," Milroe said. "A lot of things we need to clean up. One focus point is not just playing 30 minutes, but playing a full 60 minutes is very key to succeed in the SEC. So we’ve just to clean up some things and keep moving forward.”

More of the same from linebacker Deontae Lawson. 

"I think just everybody doing their job for 60 minutes in the game, just maintaining that intensity that we started the game with–that’s really it," Lawson said. "We did what we needed to do throughout the week to prepare, but just those little mistakes cost us, and they scored off that. So we’ve gotta clean that up.”

Are you starting to sense a theme?

"Honestly as a team, we’ve just got to learn how to play for a full 60 minutes with no type of complacency at all," outside linebacker Dallas Turner said. "As the year goes on, we’re gonna grow. It’s gonna start to happen. We’re going to come together and play the whole 60 minutes— no complacency and just [go] all out."

And finally from the head coach himself.

"Hopefully we can learn how to beat the other team—not just win game, but beat the other team," Saban said. "Which means you gotta play for 60 minutes. You gotta execute, do your job, have discipline, do it for one play at a time for 60 minutes in the game.”

For the sixth game in a row, Alabama gave up at least four sacks on offense, finishing with five against the Razorbacks Saturday. Milroe got off to a hot start, completing 70 percent of his passes in the first half for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns, but finished the game with a 48 percent completion percentage and 238 yards. 

For the first time this season, Alabama utilized all four of its top running backs in meaningful snaps in a game with Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams, Jam Miller and Justice Haynes. All four guys had some big runs, but the run game was once again inconsistent. 

"We’re excited about the win, but we want to strike fear into the opponent," Williams said. "I feel like doing that, we need to execute on a lot more things on the offensive side of the ball. The defense played a great game. But as an offense, we need to focus on the little things, execute and do the things we need to do to beat the opponent instead of just winning the game.”

The schedule doesn't get any easier with the next three games against currently ranked opponents, which means there's no better time for Alabama to start putting together 60-minute performances. Like Milroe said, it is key to winning in the SEC.

Starting with a rivalry revenge game against Tennessee next Saturday, the next three weeks will be a major test of whether or not the Crimson Tide can get itself back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game and back in the College Football Playoffs. Winning all the games remaining on the schedule will definitely get them there, but it's going to take beating some of these opponents along the way. 

What Nick Saban Said After Alabama Beat Arkansas