Nick Saban thinks Alabama overlooked Auburn in Iron Bowl comeback
LOS ANGELES – Alabama needed a now-iconic play on 4th and Goal at the Auburn 31 to win the Iron Bowl this year. The Crimson Tide’s last-minute victory kept its postseason hopes alive and didn’t spill over to the SEC title game, where it defeated then-No. 1 Georgia.
But on Sunday, while previewing Alabama’s matchup with top-ranked Michigan in the College Football Playoff, head coach Nick Saban was asked what he learned after the 27-24 win over the Tigers, and he said that he believed the team was overlooking its in-state rival.
“That game was a difficult game for us,” Saban said on Sunday morning. “We’d already clinched the SEC, and I think everybody was looking a little bit ahead of what might be in store for playing in the SEC Championship Game. I don’t think we respected the Auburn team like we should, and I don’t think we played one of our best games.
“And I think we’re very fortunate at the end of the game to be able to execute and come out with a win.”
The lesson?
“Hopefully, the players learn that it doesn’t matter who you play, when they play us, we’re going to get their best game and we need to be prepared to play our best game every time we go out on the field,” Saban said.
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Alabama saw two early touchdowns called wiped off the board due to penalties, and its defense allowed Auburn to rush for 244 yards – the most the Tide had allowed all year. It took an improbable touchdown pass from quarterback Jalen Milroe to wide receiver Isaiah Bond to take a late lead and keep Alabama in the hunt for a potential playoff berth.
Fast forward a month and the Tide is placing the finishing touches on its game plan for the Rose Bowl semifinal against the undefeated Wolverines. Alabama overcame a Week 2 loss to Texas, a forgettable game at USF the next week and a late-season scare at Jordan-Hare to put itself in this position, and according to UA’s coaches, this group has been coachable.
“I think the way this team has sort of transformed itself had a lot to do with that,” Saban said. “We didn’t start out very well early in the season, and I think the players got to the point where, hey, we want to dedicate ourselves to proving that we can be a good team and the leadership on the team was good, the chemistry on the team is good.
“Everybody kind of buys into the principles and values of what you need to do to be successful, and I think that’s helped us improve throughout the year and it’s something that we need to continue to do as a team because there’s still room for growth.”
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