Nick Saban offers insight into Alabama’s struggles on offense ahead of Oklahoma game
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Former Alabama coach Nick Saban discussed the Tide’s matchup with Oklahoma during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.
Saban was asked about quarterback Ty Simpson and his struggles with turning the ball over in recent weeks. Simpson has fumbled 5 times this season and has thrown 4 interceptions in his last 4 games.
While Saban said Simpson is “capable” of better performances, he also indicated that other players on Alabama’s offense need to perform at a higher level.
“I’ve always said this. Quarterback is a hard position to play, maybe the hardest position in sports, if the people around you don’t play well,” Saban said. “Their offensive line needs to play a bit more consistently. That will help the quarterback. And if they can do that, I think Ty is very capable of getting back to where he was somewhere in the middle of the season when he was playing outstanding.”
Alabama’s offense struggled mightily down the stretch. The Tide averaged under 4 yards per play in their final games against Auburn and Georgia.
The Alabama running game has been particularly lacking this season. Per Game on Paper, Alabama is 131st in the country in rushing success rate this season. Those struggles are why Alabama is an underdog against the Sooners according to the latest college football odds.
Alabama and Oklahoma will kick off at 8 p.m. ET in Norman on Friday night.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
