Nick Saban praises Alabama’s offensive line: ‘I think this was the best game we’ve played’
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Nick Saban praised his offensive line during his Monday press conference, 2 days after it limited Arkansas to 1 sack in a 49-26 victory that improved the top-ranked Crimson Tide to 5-0.
The Hogs came into last Saturday’s showdown in Fayetteville leading the nation in sacks with 20 in their first 4 games. But the only sack registered by Arkansas came from Alabama transfer Drew Sanders, who came in as the nation’s leader in that category with 5.5.
“They did a good job, in this game especially,” said Saban, whose O-line paved the way for the Tide to pile up 555 yards of total offense, including 317 yards on the ground. “I think this was the best game we’ve played. I think they’ve shown improvement every week. I think that’s important.”
Saban even raised doubt on the 1 sack Arkansas was credited for.
“I think you’re talking about a team that led the league in sacks,” he said. “And they say they got one sack, I guess that must have been on Bryce (Young’s) scramble. I guess he lost a half-inch or something on that play.
“They did a great job in pass protection, too, against some pretty good pass rushers and a pretty good pressure scheme.”
We’ll see if the improved line play continues against Texas A&M on Saturday night.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
