Nick Saban says he’s proud of Alabama for road CFP win at Oklahoma
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Nick Saban is a college football analyst for ESPN now, and he took his spot on the College GameDay set on Saturday morning to talk about all things college football.
But, of course, the legendary coach who led Alabama to 6 national championships during his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa wanted to talk about the Crimson Tide and their first-round road victory over Oklahoma on Friday night. Alabama overcame a 17-0 deficit, roaring back for a 34-24 win over the Sooners that sent the Tide to the quarterfinals and a matchup with top-seeded Indiana on New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl.
“I said (Alabama) had to have the heart of a lion to sustain in that atmosphere. But they drove through that smoke,” Nick Saban said. “It was a great win for Alabama. I’m so proud of that team, because that atmosphere was something.”
Saban talked about how hard it was for him to pick Alabama during College GameDay on Friday night while sitting in Memorial Stadium. Well, the program he once led proved him right a few hours later in Norman.
“Sometimes, I think the emotion of the game can work against you,” Saban said. “Oklahoma was really up here, but as the game went on, that emotion didn’t sustain.”
Meanwhile, Alabama did sustain its focus and emotion level, not getting too low when falling behind that many points so early.
And in the end, the Crimson Tide won out in enemy territory, making Saban look like a genius yet again for picking them in the pregame show.
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.
