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Alabama head coach Nick Saban is one of the defensive masterminds in college football. He’s not only proved it on the field with his Crimson Tide often locking down opponents year in and year out, but he’s also seen defensive assistants move on to prominent head coaching roles in the SEC.
Kirby Smart comes to mind, the man who beat him in the national championship last season. Jeremy Pruitt and Will Muschamp also fit the bill, though they may not have succeeded in their SEC head coaching roles.
But last Saturday, Saban’s unit struggled.
They allowed 52 points in a loss to the Tennessee Volunteers. It was the program’s first defeat to the Vols in 15 years, and the first in his tenure in Tuscaloosa.
He’s now trying to bounce back from that loss and guide his team to the SEC Championship Game. The first step in that recovery will take this place this weekend against an air raid Mississippi State offense.
Saban talked a bit about the offenses that he now sees in the Southeastern Conference, most notably, the two he’s facing this week and last. He had some interesting things to say.
Nick Saban said his defense didn’t know what to do when UT lined up in the I-formation.
In a weekly media outing, Saban talked to fans about what he’s seeing from opposing offenses, and the drastic shift to the spread. He singled out a particular moment from last week’s game when discussing the philosophy.
Nick Saban discusses how much college football has changed when it comes to offense, which he said is for the good.
“Tennessee got in what looked like an I-formation last week on the goal-line and our players actually did not know what to do”
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— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) October 21, 2022
“Tennessee got in what looked like an I-formation last week on the goal-line and our players actually did not know what to do. They’d never seen it. The game has just changed so much. The game now is spread out, and if you noticed last week’s game, their receivers are like two yards from the boundary… You’ve got to put people out there to guard those guys. You’ve got a lot of guys covering lots of grass.”
While it’s shocking to hear Nick Saban say his defense wasn’t prepared for an I-formation on the goal line, his notes on offensive philosophies in intriguing. They’re also very evident.
Everyone seems to run some sort of spread attack as they try to get playmakers in space. It obviously works, too, judging by what we saw from Tennessee last weekend.
While he notes the difficulty it’s put on his defensive players and coaching staff, Saban is actually happy to see the change.
“The game has just changed dramatically, and I think for the good. It’s probably more exciting to watch. Fans probably enjoy it more.”
If it means for dramatics like we saw in that 52-49 stunner, we definitely agree.