Alabama earned a massive win in Aggieland on Saturday that puts them squarely in control of the SEC West. But the Crimson Tide were anything but perfect on the afternoon, taking frustrating penalty after penalty and nearly costing itself a win.
In total, Alabama took 14 penalties, and a staggering nine of them were in pre-snap. At one point in the 4th quarter, the line took three straight illegal motion/false start penalties.
These are not the kinds of things that Alabama can afford to do if it wants to accomplish the goals that are still very much in front of them with just one loss still.
Coach Saban addressed the issues in his presser after the game:
"This may be the record game for me in terms of messing up and still winning." – Nick Saban after Alabama's 26-20 win at Texas A&M. #RollTide #CFB pic.twitter.com/StJkg8ReDl
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 8, 2023
It’s a fascinating lighter side from coach, asking the media whether they want to address the “good news or bad news first.”
He was also able to see the good in being able to win while overcoming all of the mistakes Alabama made.
“This may be the record game for me in terms of messing up and still winning…But then you look at the other side of that and what kind of resiliency and ability to overcome adversity does somebody have when you’re talking about the kind of competitive spirit you have on your team? Which I’d take that any day, because we can fix the other stuff,” Saban said.
The Tide’s first opportunity to “fix the other stuff” will be next week at home against Arkansas.
