Getty Image / Cliff Welch
For the first time since 2015, Alabama and head coach Nick Saban find themselves out of the top ten after a loss to Texas and a performance against South Florida that was so bad it was more humiliating than the Texas loss. He joined the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on Thursday to talk about his team and their big game coming up against undefeated Ole Miss.
It’s probably the most perilous time for the Alabama dynasty since early in 2008, in Saban’s second season when the team was coming off a lackluster 7-6 season.
It appears as if 2023 NFL Draft first overall pick Bryce Young covered up a lot of problems with outstanding quarterback play the past two seasons. Still, those two years were probably, on the whole, disappointing for Alabama. They lost two games in both seasons, and missed the College Football Playoff altogether last season. In the meantime, the rival Georgia Bulldogs established themselves as the biggest power in the sport, capturing back-to-back national championships.
But, on the Pat McAfee show, it sounds that he actually likes his team flying under the radar.
When people are singing your praises, I call it rat poison, because then your humility gets tested. And you know you’re thinking, I don’t have to go practice today I don’t have to work hard today, we got it. We got this, we got this and then you’re developing bad habits because you’re listening to how good you are. And then you go out and play you don’t play well, get frustrated. So all these things are about the right thing, feelings in the right direction. And that’s a challenge for all of us. But certainly something that’s important to do at this time and decision especially for our team.
Could Nick Saban be using this as a way to refocus his team? First, he’s got to figure out the quarterback situations, which saw Jalen Milroe play against Texas but saw Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson get the reps against South Florida. If they can’t figure out what’s going on under center, none of Nick Saban’s great motivational skills will matter.