Nick Saban comments on Alabama’s impressive first-half showing against Oklahoma
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Nick Saban wisely used the time off between the conclusion of the SEC Championship Game and the start of the Orange Bowl to gameplan to Alabama’s benefit as the Crimson Tide have jumped out to a 31-10 lead over Oklahoma after one half of football.
The SEC champions completely jumped on the Big 12 champions early, edging out to a 28-0 advantage after the start of the second quarter. The Sooners showed some sign of life in the second quarter, scoring 10 points, but Alabama continues to have complete control of the game entering the midway mark of the contest.
Tua Tagovailoa was nearly flawless in the game, completing 15 of 17 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Alabama has racked up a total of 318 yards of offense, to Oklahoma’s 191. Kyler Murray, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, has completed just six of 13 passes for 122 yards.
Heading into halftime, ESPN caught up with Saban to ask his thoughts on Alabama’s first-half performance. Despite his team’s dominance, Saban was bothered by the fact Alabama did not score a touchdown just before the half and had to settle for a field goal.
“We got three penalties, killed ourselves. We had the ball at the one-yard line, could have scored a touchdown,” Saban commented. “We’ve got to keep playing and when you are playing against a team like this, there is no scoreboard — you have to play for 60 minutes and you have to keep playing because they can score fast.”
What will Alabama’s focus be in the second half? It all starts defensively in Saban’s mind.
“We’ve started out playing well early but they have been moving the ball on us,” he said. “We’ll have to make some adjustments in the second half.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
