Everything Nick Saban Said After Alabama's 24-10 Win Over Ole Miss

The Crimson Tide coach met with the media following the Crimson Tide's big victory over the Rebels.

SI Editorial | Sep 23, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A statement win.

The 13th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide put the past two weeks behind it and took it to Lane Kiffin and the No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Opening Statement

"Well, you know we sort of told the players that we believe in our team and it was important for them to believe in each other. But there's a responsibility that goes with that belief in terms of being accountable to do your job, play with discipline, try to play with the toughness and physicality that we want to play with as a team, and eliminate the "my bads" that have been really critical in us being successful. I thought the team did a fantastic job of that in the second half. I mean we played hard, guys competed, played really physical, dominated the line of scrimmage, so, got off the field on third down on defense, kept them off the board. So I was really proud of the way the team played in the second half."

"First half, you know, we've got first and one at the one and snap the ball before the snap count, lose a bunch of yards, take points off the board. Those are the kinds of things to me, we got another touchdown today that was called back because of penalty, that's the fifth one this year. So, those are the kind of lessons that we want to continue to teach our team so that we can continue to improve and get better and they can develop the kind of confidence and trust in themselves so that we can play better and we can play better week in and week out and do it every game that we play."

"But man, guys played hard, competed hard. These guys are hard to play against. They do a lot of formations, a lot of motions. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of adjusting to it in the game, especially did a good job in the second half. I thought Jalen played really, really well. They played Trap down there, you guys don't know what that is - somebody zones off in the flat and everybody's playing man-to-man - something we do, something Pete does and got fooled by that one, he threw the interception, but other then that I thought he played well. He got a little dinged up, but he'll be fine. I thought he showed a lot of leadership out there, made some good throws, we made some explosive plays, so we've got to continue to try to create opportunities down the field."

Jalen Milroe's Ability To Respond To Turnovers and Adversity

"Well I think that's the one thing that guys learn. If you ask him he'd probably say he got a little bit affected by the first interception in the Texas game. But you have to learn that you have to go play the next play. You can't let one play lead to several bad plays and as much as -- You're a point guard, you can't turn the ball over. You've got to get assists. If you have one turnover, don't let it lead to two, just keep executing and believing and trusting in what you're doing so that you can continue to distribute the ball where you need to which I think he's growing and done a really good job of that."

Big Touchdown to Jalen Hale, Ty Simpson's 2-point Try and JAM Miller's Big Hit

"Yeah, I think the momentum of the game in the course of the plays that you described right there really shifted for us. The energy went up and I think that it was demonstrated by how we continued to play the rest of the game. So I was - I'm always happy to see guys make those kind of plays."

Deontae Lawson Injury Update

"Yeah, he's got a sprained ankle. He's going to be day-to-day. It's a pretty good one so nobody knows exactly how long it will take for him to respond. That's all I can tell you about that one."

The Running Game Success

"Yeah well I think we know we've got to create balance on offense. We've got to be able to run the ball. We've got to be able to throw play-action passing and take some shots like we hit a couple big plays today. But we've got to be more efficient in the passing game as well. I mean we still had four sacks today. We had too many drive-stoppers, penalties, whatever. We've got to continue to clean it up so that we can stay ahead of the sticks. I think you can always play better offense when you can stay ahead of the sticks. So that's what we're going to keep working on to try to improve on."

How Much Does Patience Come Into Play When Developing a QB?

"I think you have to take advantage of the lessons. I meet with the quarterbacks on Sunday. I meet with them on Thursday. I just have some things that - ok here's what you really did well and here's some things I want you to look at. Whether it's footwork and how you're setting up and how it affects your accuracy, what maybe the other team plays or does. You're really just trying to teach. I think you want to teach in a way that's going to impact and affect them in a positive way. You know, Jalen's really good about that. He really wants to learn. He really listens. Tommy does a good job with them. It takes a lot of patience on my part when you score five touchdowns and have them called back. So that takes patience too. It takes patience when you're first and one at the one and you don't score a touchdown, that takes patience. So I've got a lot of things testing my patience."

On the Touchdown Drive To Go Up 24-10

"I think that was one of the most critical drives in the game and then we got a couple stops on defense after that. It changes the game a lot when it's a two-score game, especially in the fourth quarter. So we were able to pressure the quarterback a couple times on third down and create some situations where they couldn't go for it on fourth down. But that drive was the drive that was the difference in the game."

Learn Anything About the Team in the Second Half

"Yeah, but I also think that they need to learn about themselves. In terms of having confidence in what they can do when they do things correctly and how important that is. When they're physical, they compete in the game, they're relentless in their effort and how they try to dominate their box and they play with more discipline and they don't have, sort of the negative plays that we keep shooting ourselves in the foot with too often. So we've got to eliminate those and I think that every one of those are an opportunities to learn. You don't want to waste a failing, you've head me say many times before and how you respond to those things is very important."

Explanation on Missed Down in Second Half

"Yeah that was uh - I got hot about that one. You know, most of the time the guy that marks the ball will signal first down. He came and marked the ball and when they put their hand down, it's like it's short. So we assumed that it was short. Called a quarterback sneak, which cost us a down, and we tried to do it fast before they could line up. Well then, all of the sudden, like right when we were snapping the ball they're moving the chains. I mean the chains didn't move until we were snapping the ball. Now, the referee says, 'I signaled first down'. I said 'well why didn't the guy spotting the ball signal first down?'. So when stuff like that happens the football gods aren't with you, because it's just a miscommunication. And we didn't think in the press box that the guy made a first down. Most of the time, right away, it's a first down and then the guys marking the ball didn't signal first down. It was bad on our part. If we weren't trying to go fast we would have been able to recover the situation and that cost us. We ended up kicking a field goal."

Assessing Both Left Tackles

"I can't tell you that. I mean, you probably had a better seat in the house to watch them play than I did. I'll be glad to tell you on Monday after I watch the film. I think both guys are improving but I can't really tell you. I don't watch the left tackle every down to see how he's doing. We wanted to play both guys today to see how they did and we got an opportunity to do that and we'll evaluate it when we watch the film."

"Great crowd today. I mean it was a great atmosphere, great crowd, really appreciate the fans supporting the team and creating such positive energy for us. Thank you."

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