Nick Saban comments on controversial pass interference calls against Tennessee
Nick Saban finds himself in an unfamiliar position. Never has he been in a postgame press conference on the losing end of the Third Saturday in October. Instead of seeing his Alabama players celebrate and light up cigars, Saban was rushed off the field while Tennessee fans made their way onto the field.
Alabama committed the most penalties in program history — for the second time this season — leading to the loss on Saturday. One, in particular, will stand out on the Crimson Tide’s end as a pass interference wiped out what could have been a game-winning interception. Saban commented on the call after the game, saying he “can’t comment on it.”
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“I can’t really comment on it,” Saban said. “It’s hard to see when it’s down in the corner. I thought the guy made a good squat on the ball and we intercepted a tip ball. And then we had another one on third and six, had good coverage on the guy.”
Had the pass interference not been called, Kool-Aid McKinstry would have had an interception and put Alabama in good field position. But more importantly, they were up seven points. Instead, Tennessee got another shot and saw Jalin Hyatt score his fifth touchdown of the night.
Nick Saban speaks on pass interference in general
Saban then talked about pass interference in general, calling it “one of the most controversial calls” in the sport at the moment. Alabama and Tennessee will not be happy with some of the 15-yard penalties handed out to their teams on Saturday night. Unfortunately, both teams received some questionable calls.
“I think pass interference is one of the most controversial calls in all of college football right now. I’ve talked about it before. The inconsistency on how it gets called — not just on those calls but in all calls. The officials do the best they can. I’m not making any negative comments about what they called.”
Either way, Saban will be heading back to Tuscaloosa with a loss to think about. While dropping one is not anything new to the head coach, losing to Tennessee is. Mississippi State is next up on the schedule at Bryant Denny Stadium.
Maybe, some extra coaching in the secondary will occur to avoid those pass-interference calls.