Nick Saban talks wild finish against Texas, decision to go for it on fourth down

After enduring a crazy final four minutes, Nick Saban and Alabama escaped with a 20-19 victory on a last-second field goal against Texas. With 1:29 remaining, quarterback Bryce Young led the Crimson Tide on a 61-yard drive that set up the game-winning kick from Will Reichard with 10 seconds remaining.

Young was responsible for all the yards on the drive, going 5-for-7 passing for 41 yards and also breaking free for a 20-yard run. Saban joined FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft on the field postgame, where the Crimson Tide coach had high praise for his quarterback’s clutch play.

“I think at the end of the day, he did a great job,” Saban said of Young. “When his best was needed, he was really good. That’s what we needed. We didn’t run the ball very well so we had to spread ’em out. Did a good job of moving the ball. Tough call down there on inches to go for it or kick a field goal, but I just felt like we could go two minutes and kick a field goal if we needed to.”

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Young finished the game 27-of-39 passing for 213 yards and a touchdown.

Moments earlier, Alabama opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 instead of kicking a field goal, but turned it over on downs and gave the ball back to Texas at the Longhorns 26-yard line. That set the stage for quarterback Hudson Card, who was playing in place of an injured Quinn Ewers, to lead the Longhorns down to the Crimson Tide 31-yard line and set up the go-ahead 49-yard field goal.

It wasn’t the prettiest performance from the Crimson Tide, who had 11 first-half penalties, the most in the Nick Saban era. They finished the game with 15 penalties, and also struggled offensively before coming up when it mattered most on that final drive.

After the game, Nick Saban gave Texas credit for some of that, but also said that his team needs to come out more prepared in the future.

“We don’t want penalties,” he said. “It’s all about discipline. Making the right choices and decisions whether it’s pre-snap, post-snap, doesn’t matter. We’ve got to play better. There’s no doubt about that. You’ve got to give Texas a lot of credit. They did a great job today. (Steve Sarkisian)’s doing a great job and they’ve got a great team. We’ve just got to play better.”

Following Saturday’s exciting win, Alabama returns home to Tuscaloosa where it will face Louisiana-Monroe at 3 p.m. CT next Saturday in Week 3.