Nick Saban says 'mental error' led to 31-yard Jayden Daniels run to set up LSU touchdown

In the fourth quarter of Alabama vs. LSU, Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels rattled off a 31-yard run to set up a go-ahead touchdown to go up 24-21. That forced the Crimson Tide kicker Will Reichard to make a field goal to force overtime — which he did — before LSU came away with the victory.

But that run turned into a key play. Nick Saban shared what went wrong, and he said a “mental error” caused Daniels to break away and put LSU in good position.

Saban explained what was supposed to happen on the play when Alabama opted to rush the quarterback. The Crimson Tide rushed five instead of using a spy to guard against Daniels’ running ability, and a defender didn’t execute the call properly. That proved to be a big miss.

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“When we’ve been hurt by the quarterback run, like the 31-yard run at LSU, a guy made a mental error in the stunt that we were running, so we had a pass-rush lane that was open with five guys rushing,” Saban said. “When you have five guys rushing, you want to push the pocket so the guy can’t get out or you rush four and have a spy. So we rushed five, probably would’ve had a sack if we’d have done it the right way. But we didn’t do it the right way and the guy ran for 31 yards and that set up a score. Got to do a better job of teaching guys ash right and ash left.”

Nick Saban shares high praise for Pete Golding after Broyles Award nomination

Pete Golding and the Alabama defense have been a bright spot for the Crimson Tide this season. Alabama enters Saturday’s game against Austin Peay with the No. 18-ranked total defense in the country, and that success earned Golding a nomination for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant.

That led to some high praise from Nick Saban.

“I think Pete has done a really, really good job,” Saban said. “He’s very bright. He articulates well with the players. He’s a good teacher. I think he’s a good motivator. I think the players respond well to him. He’s added some things that have helped us get better. He’s done a very good job with the personnel that we have, and I just really appreciate the really good job that he’s done.

“I think he’s made really positive steps every year since he’s been here. I love hiring younger guys like that and let them grow and develop in the organization, and he’s certainly done a fantastic job of that.”