Nick Saban reveals how much Alabama has grown since early-season Texas loss

Between their double-digit home loss to Texas and their disappointing performance in a win over USF, it was no secret that the Alabama Crimson Tide had some growing up to do early in the season.

Alabama since those games has been rolling, winning four straight conference matchups to remain atop the SEC West division as the only undefeated team in conference play. Head coach Nick Saban made his weekly appearance on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ on Thursday and was asked if this is the most growth and development that he’s seen from a team of his during the season during his time in Tuscaloosa.

“I think I agree with that,” Saban said. “I think this team being a younger team, maybe not the experience and maturity of some of the teams of the past, especially at what I call leadership positions. I think that I’m very pleased with the way this team has developed.”

Alabama’s defense has been rock solid all season, allowing just 16 points and 292.4 yards per game which both rank within the top three in the SEC.

But their offense is where they’ve needed the biggest improvement, and they’ve definitely seen it lately. After averaging 20.5 points in their disappointing Week 2 and 3 showings, the Crimson Tide have averaged 28.5 points per game in conference play.

Their quarterback Jalen Milroe has shown a heightened level of comfort in the offense, scoring nine total touchdowns versus SEC teams this season and completing over 80% of his passes in two of those four games. But despite the Crimson Tide showing promising signs of improvement, Saban still believes there are areas they can continue to get better in during the back half of the season.

“Now, we still have lots of room to grow and that’s something that we’re embracing the challenge of. I love coaching this team,” Saban said. “They’ve got good relationships, they like each other, they support each other. But there’s some competitive maturity, like we just talked about, not getting relief syndrome in a game and being able to play for 60 minutes that we still need to learn how to do.”

Alabama has continued to struggle in pass protection, giving up a startling 19 sacks in their four SEC games this season. Their games have also been a lot closer than usual, as Saban would like to see his team play better particularly at the end of games, most recently scoring just three points in the second half versus Arkansas.

Saban and his squad will look to keep their positive momentum going and get a bit of revenge this weekend, as they host No. 17 Tennessee in a rematch of one of the most exciting games of the year from a season ago.