Here are some of the things that were being said by both sides after the University of Alabama’s impressive 42-21 victory over Florida on Saturday.
Head Coach Nick Saban
“First of all, this was a great win for our team. Everybody who watched the game could tell that there were some things we did extremely well, and there were things that were sloppy. I thought in the second half we really controlled the game. Obviously, the turnovers were a huge factor in the game, given that they scored 21 points off them. We were able to gain control of the line of scrimmage and were able to run the ball effectively. We made big plays on offense; some of them were actually planned designs if they were in a certain look. We got the looks and we made big plays, including our first play of the game and (Amari) Cooper’s long pass in the first half. They had plus-seven turnovers going into this game. Their ball-hawking defense is something we emphasized all week. We had four turnovers, and three of them led to scores. That’s something we need to clean up. We had 11 penalties, which is also something we need to clean up. We had 645 yards on offense, and I think defensively you have to think we did some good things. We just were inconsistent and sloppy at times, and we need to improve on that. They’re all correctable issues. Defensively, I thought we really played well in the game. We did a good job in coverage for the most part. We were able to stop the run, which is something they really hung their hat on. I thought we were pretty effective with that. We also got some turnovers that were huge in this game. Special teams didn’t have much of an opportunity, but I thought we had a good plan. We had a tremendous amount of respect for No. 4 (Andre Dubose), and he didn’t have much of an impact on the game. I’m really proud of the way our guys overcame adversity in this game. I wish we didn’t do the bad things but we did them, we hung in there and we played the next play. We eventually got control of the game, which speaks a lot about the competitive nature that the players have. They just kept hanging in there. This is not something that we want to be a part of our team, in terms of how we execute and what we do. Eleven penalties are not something that we want to be a part of how our team plays. There will come a time when we won’t be able to overcome these things, but these things are all correctable. I thought we did a great job on third down and that it was a big difference in the outcome of the game. We were about 12-for-16 on third down and they were about 2-for-13. That was a big difference in time of possession, as well as our ability to control the ball and get off the field on defense.”
#6 Blake Sims, Quarterback
On the performance of the offense:
“The guys were just at the right spot at the right time, and doing what the coaches have taught them. We just believe in our coaches and believe in one another.”
On the playmakers outside of Amari Cooper:
“That was big. Everybody keeps thinking that (Cooper) is the only got we have, but for the other guys come out and makes plays for us as well and that is very big for us.”
#26 Landon Collins, Defensive Back
On the defensive performance and forcing turnovers:
“The performance on defense was really good. We had communication going on all over the field. We stayed in tune with each other and we had great composure. Our big concept today was to get turnovers – interceptions or strips, anything we could get. That was our big thing, because if you want to be a champion, that’s what you need to do as a defense.”
On the win and preparation for Ole Miss:
“The Florida win is fantastic for us. It is SEC play and one of the big games that you have to win because it can make or break your season. Going into the off week, we have to get at all of our fundamentals, reading our keys, and getting better at what we are doing.”
Head Coach Will Muschamp
“We had the opportunities. The first play of the game we had a man situation outside but it was good execution on their part – they hit us on the double move. We are supposed to be running over tops in the middle of the field and we didn’t cover. We had 79 yards and 14 points in the first half, and you can’t do that against a good football team.
“Offensively, we were just 2-of-13 on third down conversions for the game. We couldn’t stay on the field and couldn’t get off the field defensively. It was a long game, we just wore down. We had time getting in there with the running game and wouldn’t be able to sustain and drive. We had some tempo playing for the game, but we couldn’t sustain drives offensively and if you can’t stay on the field, it’s tough.
“I thought our guys competed in the game to be 21-21 (early in the third quarter) with some of the plays we gave up. In my opinion, through the game, we had opportunities there. We need to stay the course with the idea that right now that’s a good football team, but we have a good football team too with everything still sitting out in front of us. We did not have the execution we needed offensively – two big plays in the first half defense were killer and those are the things we have to go back and fix.
“We have an open week next week, which comes at a good time for us. We need to make some adjustments defensively with what we to do moving forward. We need to execute better on the offensive side of the ball and we have to stay balanced and get off the field on third down. That was just a killer for us.”
On Quarterback Jeff Driskel looking uncomfortable:
“We have to go back again and evaluate where we are. The execution is not where it needs to be. We missed a deep ball to (Demarcus Robinson) early in the game where he got on top of a guy. (We) had a dropped third down. Against a team like that, you have to make plays when you have the opportunities, and we didn’t do that. We didn’t run the ball efficiently enough, we didn’t stay on the field on third down and we need to go back and evaluate the decisions we made going into the game and during the game.”
On Alabama putting up the most yards ever versus a Florida team:
“Well, again, we have to go back and look. They had an 87-yarder and a 79-yarder, and as the game wore on, you can’t get off the field. They had the screen pass; we had two guys on the back, and we didn’t execute. So, it’s a lack of execution and that comes back on me. We have to do a better job of executing in those situations and playing better in those situations.”
#6 Jeff Driskel, Quarterback
On Florida’s struggles:
“That’s just a good team. They had good players. It had nothing to do with schemes that we haven’t seen. We didn’t make the plays when they were there, and they did as well. We didn’t play well enough to win against a good team, and going into bye week, we’re going to have to sure some things up. It’s nothing we haven’t seen. We just didn’t make the plays.”
On if the team is frustrated with its performance thus far:
“I think our defense did a really good job of getting us the ball back, and we didn’t do a good enough job taking advantage of it. We were in it early, we played hard. It was never a matter of not playing hard or not wanting it. We just didn’t make it happen today. We’re going to have to clean some things up and learn from the tape moving forward. We’re not going to hang our heads. There’s a lot of football left to play.”
#42 Keanu Neal, Defensive Back
On the defense’s issues versus Alabama:
“It was, like you said, missed tackles and lack of communication on the deep end. We’ve got to communicate better. We’ve got to be on the same page. We didn’t do that this game.”
On where the defense needs to communicate better:
“The coverage. We’ve got to adjust. We’ve got to communicate with each other. When they motion, we’ve got to know where to go to, and we didn’t do that well today.”
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
