Maybe this is the new-age Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No, we're not going to start any more Nick Saban-to-Texas rumors.
But, boy, was there a Big 12 feel to Alabama's 55-44 Iron Bowl victory over Auburn on Saturday night, the kind of back-and-forth shootout that Xbox junkies live for and the kind of game that looked a lot more like basketball at times than it did football.
Leave it to Saban's wife, Terry, to shed perhaps the best perspective on this new-age Alabama as she traded jubilant high-fives with a fan while exiting the elevator on this record-setting night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"That's what you call 'doing whatever it takes,'" she exclaimed.
Her husband would tend to agree, even though he likes giving up 44 points and 630 yards of total offense (the most ever given up by any Alabama team) about as well as he does perusing message boards and listening to sports talk radio. For the record, it's not like Saban and Phyllis from Mulga are phone pals.
"There's a lot more points being scored in this day and age of college football than ever before," Saban said. "The hurry-up offense and the advent of zone-reads and option passes that come off of it make it very, very difficult to defend, and if you can't match up with people man to man, it probably makes it even more difficult. We didn't do a very good job of that today.
"But the way we're headed in college football, there are going to be games like this, and you're going to have to be able to win games like this, and I'm sure glad we were able to win this game like this today."
But, boy, was there a Big 12 feel to Alabama's 55-44 Iron Bowl victory over Auburn on Saturday night, the kind of back-and-forth shootout that Xbox junkies live for and the kind of game that looked a lot more like basketball at times than it did football.
Leave it to Saban's wife, Terry, to shed perhaps the best perspective on this new-age Alabama as she traded jubilant high-fives with a fan while exiting the elevator on this record-setting night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"That's what you call 'doing whatever it takes,'" she exclaimed.
Her husband would tend to agree, even though he likes giving up 44 points and 630 yards of total offense (the most ever given up by any Alabama team) about as well as he does perusing message boards and listening to sports talk radio. For the record, it's not like Saban and Phyllis from Mulga are phone pals.
"There's a lot more points being scored in this day and age of college football than ever before," Saban said. "The hurry-up offense and the advent of zone-reads and option passes that come off of it make it very, very difficult to defend, and if you can't match up with people man to man, it probably makes it even more difficult. We didn't do a very good job of that today.
"But the way we're headed in college football, there are going to be games like this, and you're going to have to be able to win games like this, and I'm sure glad we were able to win this game like this today."
Allen Kee/ESPN ImagesBlake Sims overcame three interceptions and rallied the Crimson Tide from down 33-21 in the third quarter.
Wasn't it only three years ago Alabama and LSU played the so-called "Game of the Century" here in that No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown and nobody scored a touchdown?
Well, times are changing, and so is Saban, to a degree. It's not quite, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," because Saban's Alabama teams have won 22 of the past 25 SEC games in which they've played and they're headed to the SEC championship game next Saturday in Atlanta for the second time in the past three years.
But if Saban drew it up, this wouldn't be his course for college football. He's a defensive guy. Always has been and always will be.
He's also a lot more progressive than given credit for, which is why you see Alabama running a steady dose of no-huddle offense under first-year coordinator Lane Kiffin, spreading it out a lot more, and, in the words of star receiver Amari Cooper, "running plays we didn't use to."
Saban conceded the way it all went down Saturday wasn't Alabama's style. But then, he's never been big on style anyway.
"We just kept grinding and started making some plays on offense and got the momentum of the game back," Saban said.
The stats, at least from an Alabama defensive perspective, were ugly. Not only were the Tide shredded for 630 yards -- 22 more than they gave up last season to Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M in a 49-42 win -- but they were also on the field for 90 defensive snaps. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall passed for a school-record 456 yards and three touchdowns, and receivers Sammie Coates and Duke Williams repeatedly ran by Alabama's man coverage and piled up 327 receiving yards between them.
"Me, personally, that's frustrating to give up that many points and yards," Alabama linebackerTrey DePriest said. "I don't like that, but to be able to find a way to win says a lot about this team."
It also says that the Tide, going forward, might not be a fish out of water if they happen to get into another one of these track meets, whether it's against Missouri in the SEC championship game or on down the road in the College Football Playoff if they can get past the Tigers.
"Coach Kiffin knows what he's doing," Alabama offensive tackle Austin Shepherd said. "It's fast paced, going at it, and that's what we do."
Alabama trailed 33-21 in the early minutes of the third quarter after quarterback Blake Simstossed his third interception of the game, but there was never any panic on the Tide sideline, even though Saban had backup Jake Coker warming up at one point.
After his third pick, Sims came back to hit six of seven passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter, and he made sure to find the best player on the field. Cooper made his strongest statement yet that he belongs in New York City at the Heisman Trophy presentation. He caught 13 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
"We're relentless. We don't want to lose," Cooper said. "We'll win by any means."
Even if that means winning a game in which defense is optional, which is starting to become the norm in the SEC.
"It's always a positive to win in a situation we're not comfortable with or not used to," Alabama defensive end Jonathan Allen said. "I gotta give a lot of credit to our offense. The game's changed, but it's something we need to adapt to and keep getting better at."
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