Nick Saban press conference quotes after Alabama beats Arkansas
By Scott Rogust
Alabama head coach Nick Saban shared his thoughts on the Crimson Tide’s tough win against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have clinched the West division championship on Saturday, but it was far from an easy task. Alabama may have gotten the 42-35 victory, but the No. 21 Arkansas Razorbacks would not go away for the entirety of the game.
Following the game, Saban said that he was proud of the way that the Crimson Tide battled, but he was not too fond of them leaving “a lot of points” on the board.
Nick Saban: Proud of the way we battled.
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 21, 2021
Saban: We left a lot of points out there.
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 21, 2021
Nick Saban reacts to Alabama’s close win over Arkansas
It was a close win for the Crimson Tide, despite the fact that quarterback Bryce Young threw for 559 yards and five touchdowns on the day. Saban felt they had the opportunity to really pull away from Arkansas.
Perhaps the one play that showed that the Razorbacks were not going to lay down for the Crimson Tide was the fake field goal touchdown pass from Reid Bauer to Blake Kern in the fourth quarter. That allowed Arkansas to cut into Alabama’s lead to 34-28.
When asked about it, Saban said that running into an official allowed it to happen, as he was confident they had the play to stop the play.
Saban: We were trying to cover guy on fake FG. We ran into an official. We had the defense we wanted to play against it. Didn't make the play.
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 21, 2021
Saban on Arkansas' fake field goal for a touchdown: "We actually worked on it and called the defense that we wanted to play against it, but still got rubbed off and didn't make the play."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) November 21, 2021
Saban also opened up on the status of defensive lineman D.J. Dale, who was spotted being helped to the locker room by the training staff during pre-game. The head coach said that Dale’s knee was the area of concern, but the initial MRI “is fine.”
Saban on DJ Dale: "He did something to his knee. The MRI is fine. ... I think he's scared more than anything that something happened. It's probably too early to tell, but hopefully, he'll be OK."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) November 21, 2021
Alabama’s defense had a tough time fending off Arkansas, as they surrendered 468 yards of total offense and allowed the Razorbacks to successfully convert on all three of their fourth-down plays.
With the West division theirs, Alabama has officially clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game against the undefeated Georgia Bulldogs on Dec. 4. Before that, they will face off against Auburn next week in the annual Iron Bowl game.
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