Alabama’s Nick Saban says team was ‘tight’ before last-second loss to Tennessee
Alabama’s Nick Saban says team was ‘tight’ before last-second loss to Tennessee
Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was not just fired up about the loss.
Coach Nick Saban, in an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” was not only elated, he was angry.
Saban: “We were in it from the beginning. We did everything we could do to win. We had our guys ready to go. If it wasn’t for one thing — our offense — we would be in the BCS championship game.”
Saban: “It’s just a one-of-a-kind opportunity for Alabama to go against the No. 1 overall team in the country, be a part of the BCS title game and for our fans to get to watch us in person as a team.
“It’s a dream come true.”
Saban: “You talk about the history of this football team. This team is the ’63 team that came from that ’63 Rose Bowl with a loss to USC. I am not going to put any added pressure on this team.”
Saban: “We had the opportunity to advance in the SEC title game, but that didn’t happen. We are going to have to move on with our season; we don’t want to lose this game.”
In the last minute of the third quarter, Saban was not happy. His team had fallen behind, 49-27, with less than a minute remaining.
Saban: “We had two or three plays we could have made, one of which came up short. We had an opportunity to make a play, and we didn’t.
“It’s just one of those things that you can’t afford to make a mistake; it can cost you the game, it can cost you the season. We made a couple of plays, but we didn’t do enough.�