Nick Saban assesses Alabama win over Vanderbilt

Alabama is now 4-0 on the season, getting their win in the SEC opener against Vanderbilt on Saturday night. Nick Saban led his team to a routine win at Bryant Denny Stadium, dominating from start to finish against the Commodores.

Saban was given the opportunity to assess Alabama’s play during a postgame interview, praising both his offense and defense. Beginning with Bryce Young’s side of the ball, he was happy with the balance from offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. The blocking for both facets of the game was also viewed as a positive by Saban.

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“We got to have balance on offense and I think we had some tonight,” Saban said. “We did a great job of throwing the ball, we did a really good job of protecting, blocking their pressures really well. It was a good night for us offensively.”

Having 628 total yards of offense, 400 of them can in the air. Young did the majority of the damage, while youngsters Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson contributed. On the ground, five players had at least 20 yards rushing, being an all-around effort.

Nick Saban still wants to improve on the defensive end

Saban started with the positives on defense, praising the third down defense and against the run. He was right there, with Vanderbilt converting one of 13 attempts and rushing for just 14 yards.

However, he wanted a better performance when going up against a certain Commodore receiver. Especially with a tough game against Arkansas next on the schedule, the level of competition will be taking a step up.

“I think you got to do a good job on third down,” said Saban. “I think we did a good job on third down and I think we did a pretty good job against the run for the most part. And we didn’t give up a lot of explosive plays. 14 (wide receiver Will Sheppard) is a really good player. He had a couple balls to him. We were right on him but he made a good play. So, we got to clean that up.”