What Nick Saban had to say following Alabama's Championship Game loss
Alabama’s strong start was not enough, as Clemson crawled back into the game and eventually dethroned the defending champions by a score of 35-31 late Monday night thanks to a furious rally led by quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Tide’s hopes in the game were significantly hurt following the injury to running back Bo Scarbrough, who had rumbled to two first-half touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury and not returning. Freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts did not have a strong overall performance but did manage to march down the field for a go-ahead touchdown during Alabama’s final possession of the game.
Unbelievably, it was the Alabama defense that failed to hold the lead, as Watson connected with receiver Hunter Renfrow in the closing moments of the game for the final points of the game.
“I have to say that I’m extremely proud of our team for what they were able to accomplish this entire season,” head coach Nick Saban said. “I don’t think one game defines who you are, you know, as a person, as a competitor, or as a team and certainly not define what this group of young men was able to accomplish this year. It was a hard-fought game out there today, very disappointing to lose a game like that, and I wish there was something else that I could do for the players to help them be more successful in the game.
“But to the older guys on our team, the seniors, their leadership has been commendable all season long, and these guys have accomplished a tremendous amount of success for the University of Alabama in the years that they’ve been here. To win three straight SEC Championships, to be in the playoffs three straight years, to win a National Championship last year, you know, these guys have really done a fantastic job of representing the university, and I’m really proud of these guys and they’re winners in every way.
“As I said before, one game doesn’t define a team, and I think our team demonstrated time and time again this year that they were winners. I’m extremely disappointed that we didn’t have a better outcome today, but I’m also at the same time very proud of what this group of young men was able to accomplish.”
On any struggles due to the offensive coordinator change:
“I think the players handled it very well. I think we scored 31 points in the game to a defense that shut out Ohio State in its last game. I thought the preparation was good, we gave our players a chance to have success.”
On losing Bo Scarbrough to injury:
“Bo has really come on and played extremely well the last three or four games of the season. He’s certainly been a bell cow for us, and he has certainly, because of his size and durability, he makes it difficult when the defense gets worn down a little bit. Not to have him was probably a little bit of a disadvantage for us, but I was pleased with the way the other backs that had an opportunity in the game, Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris played. We always miss a guy that’s Bo Scarbrough, size, especially when you want to run the ball and take some time off the clock.”
On if this was his toughest loss:
“Well, I think every loss is very painful, and my loss is really for the bad feeling that I have for the players who have worked so hard to create this opportunity for themselves and not to be able to finish this is very disappointing for me. But because of them. And what I would, as a coach, love to see this team have been able to accomplish and achieve, which was a goal they worked very hard for.
“That’s the part that makes it difficult. But every loss, if you’re a competitor, is never good. But these kind, when you had a great season and the players had done so much to create an opportunity, it’s tough to lose this way. But I will say this: That you have to give a lot of credit to Clemson, because they made some really good plays down the stretch. They made some great catches, and we never got the ball down and we never got done what we needed to do. We had our chances, and there’s nobody that we can blame but ourselves.”
0-9 on 3rd down is all you have to know.
2-15 dumb ass.
2-15 ain’t nothing to brag about. Thank you Clemson for don what you did. Go vols!
Im sure youre glad because UT definately couldn’t do it. 42-10
49-10 actually
Uh, how did you do against us or Bama?
You can’t blame the defense, even though Clemson scored 3 4th quarter touchdowns. When an offense is going 3 and out every possession, any defense is going to get tired. Rarely do you see a combo of best QB and best WR in the nation on same college football team, but Clemson had it, and that was the difference. I pulled hard for Ohio State because I agreed with Dabo Swinney: Only one team in the nation was capable of beating Alabama.
I’m extremely proud of this team and the staff. This team accomplished a lot of terrific things and represented the university very well. Tonight we got beat plain and simple, Clemson is a very talented team and played well. Congrats to them. Roll Tide
Great Game !! I thought everybody played their hearts out on both teams. We could not convert enough 3rd downs to sustain enough long drives and we put even our great defense in a tough spot to defend 99 offensive snaps by Clemson. That is football. I think our offense, defense and special teams played with great effort and gave everything they had and never quit. Every player on that field represented UofA like true champions and they are true champions in my book. I am disappointed in the outcome, but I am not disappointed in any of our players or coaches. I am proud of everyone one of them and they have nothing to hang their head about. I think Sark got more out of our offense against a much better team than we got against Washington. Congratulations to Clemson. Their coaches and players all did a great job and that team never quit either. They deserved to win a hard fought game. No team can win every time, but every team can give their best every time. I think Bama gave it’s best tonight that is all any fan base has a right to expect.
Roll Tide
He can’t bring himself to declare that Clemson was the better team tonight. He blamed the loss on Bama’s pass interference penalty. Very classless!
Did you really make a profile just to post this awful attempt at trolling? Ha
Jerald. You’re an idiot. Next.
All the haters out in full force. Alabama lost to a good team with a QB on fire. Some things didn’t go the way Bama need to, but at the end of the day like Clemson said last year “we ran out of time”. One of these teams will likely be back in the playoffs next season, it won’t be Clemson.
They will still be enjoying the trophy they won this year.
And you will still be enjoying Coach O in his permanent interim head coaching position.
He is no longer the interim. Nice try though.
This was a battle of the Bulges. Each team was well prepared and they all represented their commitment to the team values, with the exception of Watson who reminds me of a non team player. There surely were many questionable calls by the crew but it was not one sided. They blew many calls and especially the Illegal blocks of the DB’s in the End zone. I have witnessed this for many years and only found one instance where the offending team was penalized with an Offensive Pass Interference penalty. Good game and it is not the end of the world for Alabama. The next season will start in two months when the A Day game is played. There will be competition at the QB and RB positions but the early en-rollees will shine.
That’s a pretty petty shot at the guy that just kicked your rear.
ah helt, ahh helt, ahhh helt
Not saying losing Bo had no effect on the outcome of the game, but let’s be real.
Probably had a little something to do with Hurts being 13/31 with 131 yards through the air. A BIG chunk of that coming on one play… Hurts was effective as a runner, but a complete non-factor as a passer. Bama was out-possessed by nearly 10 minutes. They were 2/15 on third down and picked up only 16 first downs the entire game. Not to mention the untimely stupid penalties toward the end.
Was Bo a factor? Of course. He’s a great back and built like a brick sh!thouse. He scored two huge touchdowns when the rest of the offense was stagnant. However, the largest chunk of his 93 rushing yards came on two runs. Harris with his 5 touches was just as effective at picking up yardage…
Point is, there was a LOT more to this loss than just losing Scarbrough.
A classy speech.
From the outside looking in as a AUBURN fan I saw a great game. Bama’s Defense Left it all on the feild. Foster was a beast. Not putting blame for the staff change last week. Jalen Hurts was a true freshman and got Bama to the game. After 99 plays any defense would be gassed. Great game by both teams. Congrats to making it to the game again Bama. See you there next year. One AUBURN fan’s opinion and let the HATERS have their day they don’t come offten.