Football vs. Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
10/22/2016 8:11:00 PM | Football
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening statement
"I was really proud of the way our players competed in this game and how they finished the game. I thought we really started out well in the game. We just left some money on the table in the first half in terms of not scoring touchdowns in the red area. We ended up taking two field goals, missing a field goal, and having an opportunity for a field goal at the end of the half, but we got a penalty to put us out of field goal range. I thought we controlled the momentum of the game until they scored right at the end of the half, and their first drive of the second half.
"I was really proud of the way our players, after going down 14-13, played in the second half. After we got in that position, I thought it was great competitive character on their part to persevere. We scored on offense, scored on defense, controlled the ball, and played better on defense. We were playing them in dime most of the time in the first half, and they were starting to be able to run the ball a little bit and keep us off balance. So we decided to play nickel in the second half, and played much better after that. I think it was a really good adjustment for us. I think the front did a really good job of pressuring the quarterback, which was huge. I think we had 10 or 11 tackles for loss and something like five sacks. A lot of times where they put a lot of pressure on the guy (Trevor Knight), it threw off the timing in the passing game, so that was a really good thing for our defense. We turned the ball over a couple times today, which could be huge.
"It's good to have a week off. I want the players to get some rest, relax, and get healthy, but we can't be relieved. We can't be relieved that we won this game. It's a big difference in resting, relaxing and working to improve, and being relieved. We've got lots of games against a lot of good teams coming up when we start back playing again that can have a tremendous impact on what kind of season that we have. We've got to continue to be able to persevere as a team.
"On a down note, Eddie Jackson has a fractured leg, and he will be out for the season. Eddie was a fantastic player for us and a great leader. I think he was an All-American player as a safety, at least in my book. We're certainly going to miss him, but what a great player, what a great competitor, and what a great guy to have in this program for the time he's been here. He's done a fantastic job for us and I'm just sick for him and his family. I hate it that it's one of the things about sports, all sports, and that we have to deal with sometimes as injuries. It's unfortunate, especially when it happens to a great guy and a very, very good player. We're certainly going to miss him."
On the change in momentum after the third quarter touchdown drive
"I think that was a big momentum play, and I think when we scored on defense shortly thereafter that was a big momentum play. We got a break on the roughing the passer call on the first drive, which gave us a first down on third down, but we took advantage of it and were able to score a touchdown in the red zone. That was really, really important. Those two scores in that short period of time were really key in changing the momentum of the game."
On the defense's ability to stop Texas A&M's run game
"I think it's not really strength-on-strength when they have four wide receivers out there, and we're spread out all over the field. They have some really good skill guys, and you're really playing 5-on-5 in the box most of the time, which is how we were playing a lot of the time. Early in the game we did a good job. Later in the game they started spitting some runs on us, so that's when we started playing nickel [defense], which is what we probably play the best. We did a much better job against the run, which created passing situations, and we were able to take advantage and start getting off of the field more on third down."
#93 Jonathan Allen, DL
On the game
"It was good. Blessed. That's all I have to say. Blessed to take advantage of the opportunities I've been given and look out for my teammates."
On his sack
"The first time, the play before, I got cut. I was planning on doing it the first time, so I knew the second time it was going to happen. It was just a leap of faith, and I am glad it worked out."
#88 O.J. Howard, TE
On the win
"It was a great team win for us. I think our team did a great job and kept competing no matter what happened. A game full of adversity. We overcame that. We put it all together to get the win."
On how the numbers match up to the victory
"We kind of started out slow, finishing in the red zone, but then later we got the win, and that was good. We need to put some things together to make a complete game come for us, but over all I'm glad we got the victory."
Texas A&M Head Coach Kevin Sumlin
On the importance of the roughing the passer call
"I think it was a combination of, we just talked about it in there, you really had five minutes in the game that really determined what happened. You know, we extended the drive with the roughing the passer then we extended the drive again on that drive with, I think, an offsides, if I'm not mistaken. So, you know, you back that up with a fumble returned for a touchdown, and in a game like this, against a team like that, that can't happen. Hung in there, and then to get the lead back getting the third down, which that was a three-and-out right after that. It was a critical stretch to extend the drive, and then the fumble return really changed the complexion of the game."
On if playing a team like Alabama narrows the room for error
"It does by a lot, and that was our discussion in there. We're going to be in some situations like that from here on out, and hopefully, we learn from that. Any tight ball game against a team like that that is an elite team. You can't flinch, and we did. Really, that stretch of five minutes really dictated what happened and dictated who won the game. And give them credit because they made the plays. The scoop-and-score, the ball hits us in the hands, and we just drop it. Then we extended their drive with a couple of penalties, and they still had to score a touchdown. We still had a chance there to come back out and put it on the ground and had them score. That was a changed game. That whole series."
On how great Alabama played up front
"Really good, and they always do. I said Tuesday this team is very talented and their front, they roll guys in. Stayed fresh. Linebackers, I thought, really played well in the first half. We saw some different things from Alabama. They gave us some different fronts, some dime packages, some different things. Very, very creative in what they did. We had a chance at halftime when we talked about it, and guys settled down. We make some adjustments, which came at the right time to keep us in the game, to go ahead, but like I said, you go through a five-minute stretch across the board, Defensively with penalties, offensively with the ball on the ground. Let a kick return hit the ground in front of him. Just some things that we haven't done this year, that in that stretch when we had to get back together, was really un-characteristic of us. But like I said, it's not just on us. Alabama had a lot to do with that."
#65 Avery Gennesy, OL
Challenge of going up against Alabama's defensive front
"Alabama has a great defense, great team. I'm glad of the effort. We just have to keep fighting throughout the game."
On what the fumble did for the momentum of the game
"It changed the game. But for us, it was just to come back and focus on the field for another drive and put points on the board."
#14 Justin Evans, DB
Thoughts in 3rd quarter when it looked like they had Alabama stopped
"We made a couple of critical errors that kept their drive alive. If we wouldn't have gotten them, they would've gotten off the field. We just have to stay focused."
Ability of Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts being able to run and extend plays
"He's a great rusher- we knew that. He's the second leading rusher on the team so we knew what he could do. He got out a few times and he hurt us."
