Nick Saban jokes about Alabama finally catching a break at Jordan-Hare Stadium
In the lead-up to this week’s Iron Bowl, Alabama coach Nick Saban made it clear he doesn’t think “weird things happen” when teams play Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium. However, it seemed like the Tigers were catching plenty of breaks during Saturday night’s game as they were closing in on a huge upset victory over the Crimson Tide.
Then, just when Alabama needed it most, the ball bounced its way.
A bad snap put the Crimson Tide back at the Auburn 26-yard line, and Jalen Milroe got called for an illegal forward pass penalty on the next play. Backed up to the 31-yard line, Milroe somehow found Isaiah Bond in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown — giving Alabama the 27-24 victory.
And although he dismissed the notion about weird things happening at Auburn, Saban couldn’t help but point out the Tigers were on the other end of the infamous Jordan-Hare magic.
“It’s a great throw by Jalen and a great catch by Isaiah. I mean, we work on it, but, you know, you’re throwing up for grabs, really, and we came down with it,” Saban told CBS’ Jenny Dell. “You know, there’s been some weird stuff happened here. And this is the first time it remember going in our favor.”
Nick Saban: ‘When you don’t play well, and you win, that might not be a good thing’
It wasn’t a perfect outing for Alabama. The Crimson Tide committed eight penalties for 72 yards and just couldn’t get over the hump as Auburn used the running game to lead the offense, totaling 244 of its 337 yards on the ground. With the SEC Championship just a week away, Saban knows Alabama has to play better next week against top-ranked Georgia.
While some might say it’s better to be lucky than good, Saban doesn’t see it that way. He knows the Crimson Tide have plenty to clean up. And while he plans on enjoying this win, it’s back to business with a massive game looming.
“Well, you know, I’ve always had a theory when you don’t play well, and you win, that might not be a good thing,” Saban said. “So, we got to look at our results a little bit. We didn’t play very well on defense tonight. We just got a great start, got too many penalties, so there’s a lot of good things to take from this.
“It’s a great win for our team. It’s a great win for our state, it’s a great win for our fans. But for next week, we got to do better.”
Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.