No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide The football team lost in overtime to No. 10 LSU, 32-31, Saturday night before a sold-out crowd at Tiger Stadium.
The Crimson Tide scored in their first practice of the extra period to take the lead; however, the Tigers scored on their ensuing possession and won the game by converting the two-run attempt.
Here’s everything Alabama coach Nick Saban said during his postgame press conference:
“To say how disappointed our team is is an understatement. How disappointed we are all. Our guys really fought in today’s game. It’s a tough environment, a tough place to play. I have to give LSU a lot of credit for making the plays they made when they needed to make them. We were hurt a lot in the match, especially at the start of the match. I had a good drive, throw a pickaxe when we’re inside the 10-yard line. I had to settle for a lot of goals on the pitch. Had way too many penalties, especially penalties contributing to their ability to drive the ball late in the game. But I think everyone needs to check their whole map and what we need to do to individually improve your stock to end the season the right way and aim to try and win 10 games, which I think roughly every team that we’ve had since 2006 or 7, or whatever, has been able to do that.
“I like this team. I think this team is very capable. I think we can play with a bit more consistency, and sometimes we fight and it’s a bit difficult to overcome. A tough defeat, but no one no longer feels bad about it than the players.They work their tails, they compete their tails, and they’re just a little short.
On whether there was a disconnect between preparation and what the team did on the pitch:
“I don’t think there was a disconnect. I mean, we went straight onto the pitch in the first practice and just turned the ball over. We played very well in defense in the first half, much better in the first half than in the second. So I don’t know if there was a disconnect. One of our goals was to run the ball a bit better, I still think we need to develop a bit more consistency to be able to do that.
“But I thought Bryce [Young] played a really good game, made a lot of plays, played an amazing game to get ahead 24-17, and we got, what, 25 yards on the next drive when the defense was there .
“All of that stuff comes down to execution, and I don’t think we had bad execution because we had a week off. I just think we…didn’t peel the guy on his first touchdown. So it’s a mental mistake. I don’t know if it’s because we had a bye week or not, but it’s a mental mistake. The players have to be able to do their job and have to be able to execute. If you don’t, you usually pay for it when you play against good teams, and that happened several times today.
On whether the attack ran the ball to their liking in the first half:
“Well, we had a bad position on the pitch. We had trouble running it when we tried to run it, and we were pretty successful with it when we got backed up. I’m not going to guess what we did in the game. I don’t think it really had…we had a chance of winning in the end. Whatever we did, we put ourselves in a position to do it and we failed.
If LSU did something different in the second half:
“No, the quarterback ran the ball. We did a pretty good job of keeping it contained in the first half. He made some important points in the second half when we didn’t adapt perfectly.
“Look, I can’t blame the players. I’m responsible for all of this, so if we haven’t done it right, it’s on me, and we need to do a better job of training the players so that we give them a better chance to succeed and when we have opportunities, we take advantage of them.
On whether he expected LSU to go for the two-point overtime conversion:
“No, I wasn’t. But they did, and we played what we would have played in this situation because the next series, you have to go in pairs. So we played what we were playing against this formation and we had a chance to stop the guy. It wasn’t like we didn’t cover it. But if we had kept him away, we would have won the match.
Scroll to continue
On his message to the team:
“I told them we all have a chance, we all have a legacy that we want to maintain in terms of the pride we have in our performance, as well as our expectations. And I told every player that they can develop value in their stock by continuing to try to play well and improve and we can create value as a team if we continue to do things what we need to do to improve as a team.
“There’s no one who benefits from not improving, there’s no one who benefits from not playing well, whether it’s their future they care about or this team. And these guys care about this team. When you’re playing in a game like this, all you have are the guys you have, but that’s really what you need if you get it together and do it the right way. way. And I was proud of how our guys competed in the game. We just didn’t make enough plays when we needed to and we didn’t make the play at the end of the game.
Always get a team’s best shot on the road:
“Well, you know, we’ve had other situations where we’ve played against this same group of people on the road. I mean, I think you have to play well on the road if you’re going to have any chance of succeeding. and have a chance to win the West, to make the SEC championship game, you have to play four games on the road. And on our side, there are a lot of good teams. And we’re going to face another good team. next week.
On the decision to go for two in the fourth quarter:
“We have a chart that shows when you should go as a couple and when you shouldn’t. And when you’re ahead by one point, if you go for two, you’re ahead by three. So a field goal ties the game, so that makes sense, doesn’t it? And when you’re up four, it really doesn’t matter other than the fact that if you go up six, they have to score two field goals, even if a touchdown still loses you one. But four, five is nothing more than four. Is it correct? I have the painting here, do you want to see it? »
See also:
LSU drops Alabama in OT, ends Crimson Tide playoff hopes
Alabama can no longer match opponents’ level of desperation as title hopes crumbleD
Loss Learning Opportunities at LSU Too Little, Too Late for Alabama Football
Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. lean on each other as leaders after Alabama’s latest loss
Another road game, another runtime failure for Alabama
Instant Analysis: #15 LSU 32, #6 Alabama 31 (OT)
Notebook: Alabama had the defense they wanted in two-point conversion
Everything LSU coach Brian Kelly said after beating Alabama 32-31 in overtime
Want to see the Crimson Tide or other teams? SI tickets