Nick Saban reveals what his halftime message to Alabama was

Alabama was outplayed in the first half of Monday’s Rose Bowl game against Michigan and was fortunate to only be trailing by 3 at the break.

Michigan had more than twice as many total yards as Alabama in the first half, putting up 197, compared to 96 for the Crimson Tide.

The Wolverines also recorded five sacks, compared to zero by the Alabama defense.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and shared what his message was to his team at halftime of the Rose Bowl.

“I said, ‘You know, we’re not playing Alabama football. We’re not executing very well. We’re not playing with great intensity,'” Nick Saban recalled. “I said, ‘You know, you guys were all hooting and hollering in here before the game, that’s like whistling by the graveyard, man. I mean, you got to go compete, you got to go execute in the game, you got to have discipline to execute.'”

Despite being outplayed, Alabama trailed only 13-10 at the break and was set to get the ball first to start the second half.

Being within striking distance was a part of Saban’s message, too.

“‘After all that being said, and us not playing very well, it’s 13-10. So if we go out and play Alabama football in the second half, we got a great chance to win this game,'” Saban said. “And we did from the beginning of the second half, all the way until 4:41 left to go in the game. We played pretty well.”

Alabama controlled the third quarter, outgaining Michigan 72-23, but it didn’t lead to points. However, the Crimson Tide did regain the lead early in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Jase McClellan.

Alabama then maintained its 17-13 lead until Will Reichard nailed a 52-yard field goal to push the lead to 20-13 in the fourth quarter.

The seven-point advantage was a positive development for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide also missed several opportunities to push the lead to two scores.

“The big thing in the game to me — when we got ahead 17-13, we had the ball three or four times and never scored to make it a two-score game,” Nick Saban said. “Kicked the field goal but it still makes it a one-score game. And then when we had to stop a man on defense, we didn’t do it.”

Michigan got the ball back with 4:41 remaining in regulation and drove 75 yards for the game-tying touchdown. The Wolverines then scored in overtime and held Alabama out of the end zone to secure the win.

It was a disappointing loss for Nick Saban and his program after playing so well in the second half.