Nick Saban fires back in defense of chasing two-point conversions after loss to LSU

Alabama fell to LSU in overtime this weekend, ceding control of the SEC West to the Tigers and inviting a litany of questions from fans about what has gone wrong this year. One of them stems directly from Saturday’s loss: Why start chasing two-point conversions so early in the fourth quarter?

The Crimson Tide scored a touchdown with 12:37 to play in the game and opted to go for a two-point conversion while up 15-14, rather than settling for an extra point.

The attempt failed, prompting Alabama to once again continue chasing two-point conversions after scoring to take a 21-17 lead with 4:44 to play.

That two-point conversion attempt also failed.

Coach Nick Saban, though, explained the logic following the game, even as ample cheering continued to ring out from the Tiger Stadium crowd as Saban summed up the second loss of the season.

“Yeah, well we have a chart that says when you should go for two and when you shouldn’t,” Saban said. “And when you’re ahead by one point, if you go for two, you’re ahead by three. So a field goal ties the game, so it makes sense, does it not.

“And when you’re ahead by four, it really doesn’t matter other than the fact that if you go up by six they’ve got to kick two field goals, even though a touchdown still puts you down one. But five does nothing more than four. That correct?”

Saban wrapped up his press conference with a bit of dry humor, belaboring the point on chasing two-point conversions.

“I got the chart right here, you want to see it?” he said.

Angst rising in Alabama fanbase over how 2022 has unfolded

Despite the fact that Alabama has now lost two games by the narrowest of margins, falling to LSU on Saturday in overtime after having lost on a last-second field goal by Tennessee, the grumbling has begun about the state of things in Tuscaloosa.

ESPN personality Paul Finebaum outlined some of the main thrust of the angst on Sunday.

“You can choose your words harshly or you can be calm and say, ‘Nick Saban will recover from this,’ but I don’t know the answer to that. I know he’s wasted the best quarterback perhaps in Alabama history, maybe one of the best defensive players, and you laid out the rest of the team, it seems a shame, quite frankly, when you look at it from an Alabama perspective, what’s happened,” Finebaum said on the Week 10 recap with Matt Barrie.

“Nick Saban wasn’t really sure how to respond, he said I’m not second-guessing anyone, well he ought to second-guess himself. This has been Nick Saban’s worst coaching job at Alabama. By my count, this has been the fourth time that he’s been outcoached. (Steve) Sarkisian, Texas, Jimbo Fisher outcoached him, Josh Heupel, add Brian Kelly to that list.”