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Nick Saban reflects on Alabama’s season in wake of loss to LSU: ‘It’s my responsibility’
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Nick Saban and Alabama are on the outside of the College Football Playoff looking in after a disappointing loss at LSU.
The Crimson Tide dropped to 7-2 on the season and, at 4-2 in the SEC, no longer control their own destiny in the SEC West race as the Tigers now hold an inside track to presumably facing Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
While 7-2 may be good for a good chunk of teams nationally, that qualifies as a disappointment in Tuscaloosa. And Saban, with his team all but assured to be out of the CFP’s top 4 for just the 2nd time since the format began in 2014, knows there’s plenty of blame being cast from the direction of both fans and outsiders.
That said, in his eyes, the buck stops with him, he told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach:
I’m not blaming anybody else in the organization…It’s my responsibility. I know what plays they call; I’m involved in how they prepare for the week. I watch practice film with them. But I think people look for somebody to hate when things don’t go right. But most of the stuff comes down to a lack of execution. It’s not really what you’re doing, it’s how did you do it?
Alabama, currently No. 9 in the latest CFP rankings, will look to return to winning ways against former Saban disciple Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss on Saturday in Oxford. It’s the Tide’s play on the road that’s troubled Saban:
I don’t know if it’s the expectations that get created or what, but this team seems to be a little more outcome-oriented, which sometimes to me makes it more difficult to focus on the process. And then when you do that, it also creates anxiety while you’re playing. We don’t seem to have it at home, but we seem to have it on the road for whatever reasons.
We’ll see if the Tide can get on track in hostile territory on Saturday and avoid their first season with at least 3 losses since all the way back in 2010.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
