Alabama’s Nick Saban: ‘It’s never OK to lose a game’

Saban knows it so well that he was able to draw up plays at halftime that the Tigers would use after intermission.

No. 1 Alabama enters the Iron Bowl with certainty at quarterback in the unlikely source of dual-threat freshman star Jalen Hurts. Any loss to the Crimson Tide stings no matter that many figured Alabama would cruise. “So that’s just a blessing to have them talk to me”.

“I think the whole awesome thing about this experience is the state comes together and no matter whether you’re orange or you’re crimson, everybody comes here to do their part and support their team and at the end of the day, everyone’s here to have a great time”, Hebron said.

Auburn left Bryant-Denny Stadium with a season-low 66 rushing yards on 26 carries. Big win for Alabama.

JUST FOR KICKS: If this game defies the oddsmakers and comes down to a field goal, Auburn’s Daniel Carlson has the edge on most teams.

2 from Josh Jacobs, in limited action, one of which was a truly impressive explosive play where he dragged about 8 Auburn defenders for the last 10 yards.

Alabama still has to get more going in the downfield passing game but remains dominant on defense.

“We just worry about the next game”, linebacker Ryan Anderson said. “That’s kind of one of the goals that we have”. The bowl that Auburn will be playing in will be determined at a later date. Auburn announced the decision about 90 minutes before kickoff. But the Tigers couldn’t take advantage of the great field position, and lost yardage on the drive.

“That was probably our worst play of the day”, Saban said.

But early against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Crimson Tide weren’t having an easy time finding the end zone, thus making the Alabama defensive play even more crucial. Keep in mind that those jet sweeps are also included in passing stats, including the one that bobbled around and was caught by Damien Harris, so they may be boosting the success rates. Alabama opponents are averaging just 68.9 yards on the ground with only three rushing touchdowns.

Alabama junior receiver ArDarius Stewart sat out last week’s 31-3 win over UTC for “violating a standard of behavior”, according to Saban. “Our defense took that as a challenge”. The Tide leads the nation in run defense, scoring defense and total defense The Gators rank third in pass efficiency defense and fifth in both points and yards allowed. “We didn’t always finish, but we really executed a lot better in the second half”. He has named Alabama as his leader since April, so this commitment didn’t exactly come as a surprise. “We didn’t defend them very well”. Foster had four quarterback hurries, while Hamilton had an interception.

This year’s showdown in Tuscaloosa won’t be a veritable play-in game for the College Football Playoffs like it has in the past, but there’s still pride and bowl implications at play. Whoever it is had better come strong; the Tide is only gaining momentum as this season rolls on. White sat out the first half against Vanderbilt before coming off the bench to help the Tigers win, followed by starting and struggling with the injury in a 13-7 loss to Georgia.

Nick Saban wanted Giants job at big $? We had some really good drives. “They have good all-around players, so that’s going to be another tough test for us”.

Of the four options, Florida or Auburn seem the most likely to me.