Nick Saban told ESPN’s Chris Low on Thursday that his decision to play Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson against South Florida last weekend was simply because he had promised all three of Alabama’s quarterbacks he would give them their chance in a game.

“That was it. Nothing else,” Saban told ESPN. “I’ve got confidence in Jalen (Milroe). I believe in him. The one thing that we’ve always talked about is you make enough good plays, but you’ve got to eliminate the devastating plays, the ones that are killers. It happened twice in the Texas game, but I think he’s learned from it.”

Milroe turned the football over twice in Alabama’s 10-point loss to Texas on Sept. 9. Texas scored 10 points off the two giveaways.

But neither Buchner nor Simpson provided much of a boost in a lethargic 17-3 win over South Florida last Saturday. Buchner went 5-for-14 for 34 yards. Simpson was 5-for-9 for 73. Alabama had just one explosive pass play and capitalized on two USF turnovers.

The Tide will move back to Milroe this week against Ole Miss. Saban said earlier this week when he made the announcement that Milroe had “played the best of all those guys” and “earned the opportunity to be the quarterback.”

Saban told ESPN that Milroe was initially frustrated with his decision to play Buchner and Simpson against the Bulls, but that he was impressed with Milroe’s support of his teammates during the game. Saban told ESPN the Crimson Tide have to play better around Milroe, and he’s been pleased with the response this week.

“If anybody’s feeling angry or feeling disrespected, this is the time to do something about it — channel it onto the field and in the right way,” Saban told ESPN. “That’s the way I want to see us play.”

No. 13 Alabama (2-1) hosts No. 15 Ole Miss (3-0) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.