Nick Saban responds to being flagged for unsportsmanlike penalty against Notre Dame
By Keith Farner
Published:
Something shocking happened late in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal for Alabama as it put the finishing touches on a 31-14 win over Notre Dame. Coach Nick Saban was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
“I’m not criticizing anybody, I’m not complaining,” Saban said, per Roger Hoover. “I’ve been a head coach 20-something years and I’ve never been called for that.”
Saban had reason to move on from the flag after his team clinched a berth in the national championship game.
The Alabama offense was led by DeVonta Smith who caught three of fellow Heisman Trophy finalist Mac Jones’ four touchdown passes, and dynamic running back Najee Harris ran for 125 yards including a hurdle of a Notre Dame defender as the Tide advanced to its fifth CFP title game.
The Crimson Tide earned a spot in the Jan. 11 championship game in Miami after Alabama missed the CFP last year for the only time since the four-time playoff debuted at the end of the 2014 season.
This is familiar territory for Saban. Alabama will play for its sixth national title in Saban’s 14 seasons in the CFP national championship game.
Alabama down late and Saban is losing his cool! pic.twitter.com/fUS3lwClRu
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) January 2, 2021
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
