What Nick Saban said after Alabama survived Mississippi State
By Cody McClure
Published:
Alabama struggled mightily in Starkville on Saturday night.
Nick Saban and the second-ranked Crimson Tide, which have rarely been tested this season, found themselves in a four-quarter dogfight against Dan Mullen’s Mississippi State squad.
The Tide allowed three rushing touchdowns in a game for the first time in the Saban era.
Still, Alabama was able to pull out a clutch win, 31-24, to move to 10-0 on the season. It likely will be slotted at No. 1 in next week’s College Football Playoff rankings after Georgia got blown out by Auburn earlier in the day.
Saban commented on his team’s effort in the post-game press conference. He admitted that the Tide would need to improve to finish the season the way it wants to.
On overcoming adversity:
Nick Saban: “Great example of overcoming a lot of adversity.”
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 12, 2017
Saban: “Sometimes you win a game like this and it does a lot for everyone coming together.”
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 12, 2017
Saban: “Defensively we didn’t do a great job of stopping the run but you have to give Mississippi State a lot of credit.”
— Ben Jones (@BW_Jones) November 12, 2017
Player performance/injury updates:
Alabama LG Ross Pierschbacher has a high ankle sprain. Will be evaluated in the morning. Left the game early tonight.
— Ben Jones (@BW_Jones) November 12, 2017
Josh Jacobs was “probably the spark for the whole team,” Saban said.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 12, 2017
Nick Saban on Jalen’s big plays: “I don’t select and say ‘Make (plays) with your arm, not your feet.'”
— Ben Jones (@BW_Jones) November 12, 2017
“Most of the time the bigger the situation the better he is. I️ think the players believe in his leadership and I️ think that’s really critical in games like this.” – Saban on Jalen Hurts’ poise and leadership
— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) November 12, 2017
Moving forward:
“We’ve has more starters not play this year than my entire time coaching not just at Alabama. I️t has an affect but it’s giving other players an opportunity.” – Saban
— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) November 12, 2017
Saban: “If we’re going to beat really good teams, we have to learn how to compete in close games … We don’t always have that when we win 49-0.”
— Ben Jones (@BW_Jones) November 12, 2017
Saban: I do think we’re going to need to improve if we’re going to have the kind of finish we want #Rolltide
— Chris Renkel CBS 42 (@Chris_Renkel) November 12, 2017
Saban: sometimes you need hard. If we’re going to be a good team we have to play good teams. #RollTide
— Chris Renkel CBS 42 (@Chris_Renkel) November 12, 2017
Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.
