Football vs. Georgia Postgame Quotes
12/4/2021 9:09:00 PM | Football
THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, the 2021 SEC champions, Nick Saban. We'll go ahead and ask Coach Saban for an opening comment, and then we'll take questions.
NICK SABAN: I'm extremely proud of our coaching staff, our players, the entire organization. We've probably had to overcome more adversity than this team has had to endure and have more resiliency from a competitive standpoint than probably most of the teams we've ever had. I'm really proud of them for that.
Also, the competitive character that they have. Last week at Auburn to come back and win the game, to come into this game that nobody thought we had a chance to win and really go out there and perform well in the game against a really good team.
Georgia should be congratulated on the great season that they had. To go undefeated is really something of
significance.
SEC Championship Game is always a tough game. You look back through the years, we played 1 and 2 a couple times, 1 and 3 a couple times. So it's not easy, and I think that our players really prepared well for this game and executed extremely well, fixed a lot of problems that we had.
So just a tremendous victory, team victory. Defense got a couple of turnovers, couple of fourth-down stops that were very important. Offensive line did a really good job of blocking their pressures. Gave Bryce the opportunity to operate, which he did a magnificent job of all night. So great team win for us.
Q. After the loss to Texas A&M, you said your team was no longer viewed as elite. What did tonight do in
terms of regaining respect?
NICK SABAN: Well, I think it gave us an opportunity to have a two-game season. We have a two-game season
now, I hope. That's what we're going to work for. That's what we want to do.
These players have worked hard all year long. I think they deserved a lot of respect for what they've been able to accomplish and what they've been able to do. But at the same time, how are you going to look forward? I'm sure Georgia will get in the playoffs again still, and they deserve it. They're a very good team.
So it's how do we move forward? We've created an opportunity for ourselves where we have a chance to play
in the College Football Playoff. How are we going to prepare? How are we going to be committed to do the
things we need to do? Obviously, we've lost a lot of really good football players this year on our team. John Metchie is probably going to be out now, and we have a couple other guys that may be injured. It creates a lot of opportunity for a lot of other players. Hopefully, we'll be able to get them to step up.
So really, really pleased and proud of this team creating an opportunity to be in the playoff, to play in the playoffs. This is always kind of our goal. So I was really, really pleased and happy for the players to see them be able to accomplish that goal, especially the way they played tonight.
THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by quarterback Bryce Young, who's the MVP tonight, also Jordan Battle.
Gentleman, we'll start with Bryce. If you can give an opening comment. Your reaction to tonight's game.
Bryce?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, it was obviously a huge win for us. I'm super, super excited. Super happy for the team.
Kind of what Coach is saying, just creating that opportunity for us. We know there's a long road ahead. We're hoping to get into that two-team season. We've got that two-game season to prepare for. It's a good one. We've got the 24-hour rule, and we get back at it.
THE MODERATOR: Jordan, your thoughts on tonight's game?
JORDAN BATTLE: I feel like it was a great game. I feel like we mentally prepared all throughout the week. We had some great practices, and it carried over to the game.
The main thing right now is just staying humble, not getting too big headed. We want to be the No. 1 team, but we've got to stay on track and prepare for this hopefully two-game season.
Q. Nick and Bryce, what changed in that second quarter offensively where things were struggling a little bit in the first, but you exploded in the second?
BRYCE YOUNG: I think it was just as a whole, obviously wanting to get off to a better start than we did. I think we all stepped up, and we all answered the bell. We all understood what was at stake. We all understood that we needed to step up. So I'm blessed to have the teammates I do, that when our back's kind of against the wall, we understand we need to have the type of situation, and we kind of got our spark and started moving.
I'm happy we started getting going when we did.
NICK SABAN: I actually think I agree 100 percent with what Bryce said, but I think sometimes when you start a game, the speed of the game gets you a little bit. The speed of their defense, maybe a couple times their backs got outside of us because it probably happened a little faster than what we practiced and what we're used to.
I think once you sort of get used to the speed of the game, like their pass rush and all that, I think you start operating a little bit better. Our efficiency got much better on the
offensive line as well as on defense.
Q. Coach Saban, you talked about giving Bryce a lot of time to operate today. What are some things that
got the pass protection better this week from the Iron Bowl to today?
NICK SABAN: I think the offensive line really answered the challenge that we put to them in terms of them being more physical in this game. They probably prepared a little better than I've ever seen them all season long in terms of studying the guys they had to block and the things they had to do.
I think we did a little bit better job in terms of having some protection multiples that maybe we didn't always get as many guys out in the pass routes, but we also gave the quarterback time to operate.
Sometimes those multiples can affect how you pressure on defense, and I think all those things probably contribute to us getting in a little better rhythm as the game wore on.
Q. Nick, you had mentioned before the game you weren't sure how players would respond to being underdogs in this game. Just how do you think they responded, and how much was that used as motivation?
NICK SABAN: I think what these guys really wanted to gain was more respect. Not just the fact that they were underdogs because I think we had a tremendous amount of respect for Georgia, their team, and what they accomplished. But you guys gave us a lot of really positive rat poison. The rat poison that you usually give us is usually fatal, but the rat poison that you put out there this week was yummy (Laughter).
Q. I don't know how to follow that. Bryce, how much -- usually the offensive line only gets attention from us when they give up seven sacks or something, but how much did those guys impact this game against that
defensive front?
BRYCE YOUNG: That was everything. Obviously, that's a great front, a great defense, and we knew that coming in. I think they just kept hearing it and hearing it. Like Coach said, they accepted the challenge, and they really stepped up to the plate in the biggest moment in the season.
All the success that we have offensively, it always starts up front. So I'm glad that you said that. You only hear about -- people try to only say negative things about offensive lines in general and about our O-line, but you don't understand that every time there's a positive play, whether it's the run game, the pass game, whatever it is, nothing starts without our O-line. They did an amazing job today. They stepped up to the plate. And I'm happy to have the guys that I do.
Q. Nick and Bryce, why were you guys able to have so much success against Georgia's defense today and
make them do things they haven't seen them do much this season?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, I think, again, that was a really good defense. It had really good players, great coaching. I think it was just about how we prepared. We kind of wanted all as an offense take that challenge.
Like Coach is saying, you hear the rat poison, and it was kind of against us this week. We took preparation very seriously, and we all understood the magnitude of the moment, and we all stepped up. So it was everybody, all 11. It was the coaches doing a great job calling plays, managing situations.
So it was a team effort, and we know it was a great win, and we have to keep on improving.
NICK SABAN: I still think that it started up front. Their front has been so dominant in terms of pressuring people, kind of taking them out of their game. You could never, ever really get the ball out very successfully on a very consistent basis, which is a tribute to them, their scheme,
their players are very good.
It still goes back to the offensive line did a very, very good job of allowing us to get the ball down the field and our receivers to be able to work in the passing game, which we knew was going to be something that was going to be really important in this game. So it really started up front.
Q. Coach Saban, you had mentioned earlier in the season this team was young and maybe a little
inexperienced and immature at times, and you kind of had some choice words for them on some of your
radio shows earlier. I'm curious if you could speak to the growth you've seen now. What specific areas have you seen this team change the most over the course of the season to this point?
NICK SABAN: Well, I think this team has shown tremendous resiliency, which I talked about before, to
overcome adversity. We've had a lot of -- we were young, and we actually got younger because we lost players. That gave opportunities to other players. And all those guys have stepped up very nicely for us.
But the big thing I like about these guys is they responded the right way when they got beat. Nobody ever really thinks when I say sometimes it's not a bad thing to get beat. Jordan mentioned the word humility. Having respect for winning and what it takes to win and what it takes to prepare to win are all things that are really important. Sometimes when you win 19 games in a row, you lose a little respect for that.
That's why I think from the Texas A&M game on, we've been able to grow as a team. We haven't always been the most consistent, but at times when we played well like we're capable of playing, we've been very, very good, and we're just trying to get that on a little more consistent basis. I think the players understand that.
These guys, you can coach guys, but they don't have to take coaching, and these guys have all done a marvelous job, in my opinion, of doing what the coaches ask them to do, trusting and believing in the system, trusting and believing in each other. And I think that's probably where we've made sort of the greatest strides in becoming a team.
Q. This is for Jordan: After the Arkansas game, you all were taking a lot of heat, especially in the
secondary. You and DeMarcco specifically, the last two weeks in the Iron Bowl against Auburn and then
again today, communication-wise, you guys seemed to be on the same page, and you guys made some big
plays in this game tonight. Can you speak to your relationship with him? And just you guys as a unit
back in the secondary and how you've really grown the last few weeks.
JORDAN BATTLE: I think we did a great job communicating and being on the same page. Like I said
this week in practice, that was the main thing, preparing mentally because physically we've got all the intangibles, all the everything.
So just being on the same page every play is a big key factor in the game because, when you give up big plays, that's on us. I think we did a great job focusing on having one mind today. Actually, we talked about that in chapel before the game, having one mind.
I want to give a big shoutout to Jeremiah Castille, former player at Alabama. Thank you.
Q. Nick, you talked about this past week in the Auburn game on that drive, the final drive that Bryce, some of the biggest plays he made were when he just got rid of the ball to extend it. The touchdowns were easy to spot in this game, but what plays stood out to you the most that he made tonight that helped you guys get this win?
NICK SABAN: Well, there was a lot of big plays in the game, which was something that we wanted to -- I think that the Jameson Williams long touchdown in the beginning of the game, they came down and played two
trap. The safety was supposed to trap him. We got through him. I think that changed the momentum of the
game a little bit for us, so that was really important.
But from a coach's perspective, to be able to manage the last drive when we needed to take the air out of the ball and not keep giving them the ball back, which our defense was really, really tired when we played a lot of plays in the third quarter, that was huge. A lot of those were four-yard gains, five-yard gains, eight-yard gains. So they weren't the big plays, but those are things that win games when you can take the air out of it at the end of the game and don't give the other team an opportunity to get back in the game.
Q. This is for Coach Saban and Jordan: What did you guys do to really fluster Stetson Bennett tonight and
obviously force him into a couple of huge mistakes?
JORDAN BATTLE: I think the main thing in this game was our disguises. We put in a lot of disguises this week. That was the big thing. Just have his eyes wandering around before the play. I think we did a good job on the back end and linebackers stemming and disguising. So I think that was a big part of the game.
NICK SABAN: I think that you try to change the picture as much as you can and make the quarterback try to make decisions after he gets the ball in his hand. Stetson Bennett to me is very instinctive, very good player. If he knows what the picture is -- and I couple times tonight when he knew what the picture was, that's when he made plays, and several big plays.
So I think us changing the picture on him a little bit helped. We have to play the ball better in the deep part of the field. We've had a couple of those the last couple of weeks that are things that we need to do better, but all in all, I think that was probably the one thing that helped it the most.
Pass rush always helps you. If you get good pass rush. We affected him in the pocket. He scrambled some, which is -- you hate, but you're also affecting a guy when you do that because you're not throwing the ball on time.
Q. You know how difficult it is to run the ball on Georgia. You guys seem to admit to it, and I know
some of it was Bryce running, but you averaged about 4 1/2 yards a carry. What was the key to that tonight?
NICK SABAN: I think Bryce's scrambles probably contribute to that as much as anything. B. Rob being able
to play in the game and grind out some tough yards. I thought Trey did a good job. Again, it's got to go back to the offensive line, being a little more physical in this game against a very physical front, big, athletic guys, quick on the edges.
So we need to continue to try to develop a balanced attack to that we don't put ourselves behind the eight ball down and distance-wise. I think that's when we're most effective.
Q. For Nick or the players, could you foresee this coming? Was there any indication throughout this
week that a performance like this maybe was coming this weekend?
BRYCE YOUNG: I'd say we always have faith and confidence in each other. As a player, we always have
faith and confidence in the coaching staff. So for us, I don't think we ever really blinked or wavered. We understood the work that was necessary during the week. We understood what we had to do to prepare.
But we always have confidence in each other. We always believe in each other and push each other. I think we were all confident going in.
NICK SABAN: I think from my perspective, when I think the players have the right mindset in terms of how they go through the week and how that leads up to the game, then their focus, their preparation are all things that created habits that are going to help them play better in the game. When we do that, I think we usually perform well.
Did I foresee this happening? Sometimes you do all that, and the other team makes some plays too. But I think we had the right mindset in this game in our preparation for the game.
Q. Talk about the complementary guys. You talked about John Metchie being injured. In the second half,
Slade Bolden, Traeshon Holden, and Ja'Corey Brooks took advantage of opportunities to help the offense
win the game.
NICK SABAN: I think we have some young guys that are going to get opportunities now. They certainly -- Ja'Corey Brooks did it last week and this week. And I think Slade prayed really well. But I also think that a lot of that comes from Bryce having trust and confidence in those guys as well because a good quarterback can make receivers look good, and those guys have to run good routes and do things the right way to get open.
But I think his faith, trust, and confidence in those guys have helped their development tremendously.
THE MODERATOR: Bryce, talk about the variety of guys who helped you on offense this year.
BRYCE YOUNG: There's a lot of guys who stepped up with people being down, with just having to have rotation. I think Coach spoke to it well with the confidence that I have in them. That's confidence in seeing how they work throughout the week, seeing how they work in the off-season.
So for me, even when it is the next man up and it's not someone that might be particularly familiar to the field, I see how they work throughout the week, and the guys that stepped up, I had complete confidence, complete trust and faith in them. We kind of built that rapport through how hard they work.
For those guys to step up in a moment like we did, it was definitely big for us.
THE MODERATOR: Jordan, from a defensive side, your teammates?
JORDAN BATTLE: Yeah, it starts in practice. Good on good periods. You have the younger guys come in
sometimes when guys go down in practice. They come in and give their 100 percent effort every time. Guys like Ja'Corey who played tonight, guys like Trey Sanders, they practice hard, and they come in the game, and it's easy or it's a good task or a well task for them. It's something they've seen before because they're going against a good defense in practice.
I think, when they come out in the game, they have confidence because of how hard we practiced this past
week.
NICK SABAN: Thank you. I'd like to thank the media for all the interest that you create in college football and college football players. These guys work hard. I know I had a little rant a couple weeks ago about how hard these guys work and they're student-athletes and they have homework and have to go to class.
But what you do to bring attention to what they accomplish and what they do, I think is really appreciated. I want you to know we appreciate it more than you probably realize. Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: We have Coach Smart, Nakobe Dean, and Stetson Bennett.
KIRBY SMART: First off, I'd like to thank our fans. I thought our fans turned out and had a great impact on the game. I felt like we had a majority in the stadium. Obviously, we didn't play very well, but tremendous audience, great support from them. Great atmosphere. I told our kids there's no better atmosphere to play in in the country than the SEC Championship.
I'm disappointed how we played. Give Alabama a lot of credit. Give their defense and Bryce Young and their
offensive skill players a lot of credit. They played really well, very accurate, explosive, and he's hard to get down on the ground, which caused us a lot of problems defensively. But we can't turn the ball over and give up 60 and 70-yard passes and expect to be successful.
For the most part this year, we've executed well. We didn't execute well tonight, and that had a lot to do with them.
So give Alabama credit, and we've got a lot to work on.
STETSON BENNETT: Yeah, we just didn't play our best game today. They did. Can't turn the ball over. Just little mental lapses. That can't happen. We're going to work on starting tomorrow. Hopefully get ready for whoever we play next.
NAKOBE DEAN: Yes, like the other two said, we didn't play our best game. We got a lot of work to do, a lot to work on. I'm pretty sure we're going to continue to work.
Q. Kirby, they hit the play in the middle to Jameson Williams and he broke. From that point on, they just
seemed to click there. Was there anything they were exploiting specifically with you all?
KIRBY SMART: Well, their explosive wideouts and a really good quarterback. We changed the coverage up. We had a couple busts. We had a bust on that play specifically where we left a guy wide open. It wasn't anything they did different, same route they ran on Auburn, but we played it a different way and didn't play it correctly. Gave a play up there.
It was more than that play obviously. They hit us several times man to man. They hit us several times zone. I think you've got to affect their quarterback. You've got to get to him and finish, and he's so good at avoiding rush that he buys time with his mobility to make plays downfield. Give him a lot of credit. He did a tremendous job.
Q. For Kirby and Stetson: I think four drives in the red zone tonight, only ten points. Why do you think you struggled there in that area of the field?
KIRBY SMART: They did a good job of stopping us twice. One of them we went for it, where we probably could've have points. But at that point I felt like we needed touchdowns and not field goals. I'll let Stetson answer as well.
STETSON BENNETT: Can't throw a pick down there. The one where they went all out zero, clock was running down, didn't have time, tried to -- whenever we went for it on fourth down, tried to scramble and make a play; it didn't happen.
Just got to finish it. We had opportunities. Like I said, we were moving it. We were driving the ball all four times, and just can't throw picks and got to execute better.
Q. Kirby, why do you think they had so much success through the year so consistently when we haven't seen
that happen to you guys this year?
KIRBY SMART: Well, I think the quarterback had a lot to do with that. Obviously, they have two exceptional skill players outside, really talented tight end. But I would say the quarterback buying time. We called a lot of the same calls we called the other games. We didn't get home or finish on the quarterback, and he was elite at getting the ball to the playmakers.
He knew where to go with the ball. He keeps his eyes downfield with the rush, where a lot of quarterbacks
wouldn't do that. They'd look at the rush and start trying to run away from the rush, and we could run 'em down. But tonight he did a tremendous job. He was mobile and made a lot of plays.
Q. This is for Nakobe and Coach Smart: I was really kind of wondering about how you're planning on going
into this game and just with the dynamic passing combo of Bryce Young and Jameson Williams. I don't
think you've probably faced that kind of duo all year long. So what makes them so difficult to defend?
Obviously, you've seen some explosive quarterbacks and some great receivers this year, but was there any
way that you tried to prepare for this going into this game?
NAKOBE DEAN: Well, yeah, of course we prepared like every other week. We took it in stride, tried to trust the coaches, trust the plan and everything. They got great players, and they made great plays. We just didn't play our best game today.
KIRBY SMART: I would reiterate what he said. We actually went into this game all week. We didn't work on
run much because we didn't feel like with the backs it was coming. It was going to be a pass game. Felt like we'd get a lot of empty, which we did.
I really feel good about the things we worked on, but our ability to execute them -- we had two or three third downs where we have a bust and cut a guy loose, and we haven't done that all year. When you're in man coverage and you cut a guy loose, that's not typical of us.
Now, they may beat you. They beat us on several man coverages, and I can take that, but when you cut a guy
loose, you can't do that. When you get these guys in third down, you've got to get off the field.
Q. For Kirby and Nakobe or even Stetson: After a 12-0 regular season to have a performance like this, what
does it do to the psyche heading into your next game and the damage it does to that?
KIRBY SMART: It didn't do any damage. What it did is reinvigorated our energy. It recenters you, right? Their greatest thing is when they lost their game against Texas A&M, they garnered some focus and some attention. To me, that's an opportunity for a wakeup call, if anything.
Unfortunately that it comes in a setting like this, but they're a really good football team. And the narrative out there was, well, they just went to Auburn, and they really struggled. Some of the sacks they gave up, their attackers didn't even get out of stance. The crowd noise was a major impact there. Auburn played man of their downs almost every single play, and they won a lot of the battles we didn't win tonight. We knew the narrative coming in, these guys can throw the ball, and they've got a really good
quarterback. They gave them the opportunity to make plays, and they made a lot of really good plays, along with their wideouts.
Q. Obviously, you have the College Football Playoff announcement tomorrow afternoon. Even after this
performance, do you still feel you're one of the four best teams in college football?
KIRBY SMART: That's not for us to determine that, you know what I mean? Certainly I feel like we are, but it's not our job to determine that. It's the committee's.
Q. What was the biggest challenge in facing Bryce? And then defensively that you had to go against
Stetson, what was the biggest challenge for you?
NAKOBE DEAN: He's a great player. We knew that coming in. He's very elusive. He runs the offense well.
He did a good job keeping his eyes downfield and avoiding our pass rush. I feel like the pass rush and the recovery's got to work hand in hand. Him being able to keep his eyes downfield and make certain throws really helps them.
STETSON BENNETT: They're a really good team, really good players. We move the ball and just mental lapses.
When you do that, they make you pay. Several third downs, the two interceptions -- you just can't have that versus a team of this caliber. We had it, and they made us pay for it.
Q. Stetson, you referenced a couple picks you threw, and there was another one in the first half that was
pretty close. I'm just wondering if you at all felt off at all tonight, or was it just a couple of mistakes basically?
STETSON BENNETT: No, I felt fine. The first one was a bad decision. The second one, I didn't see the safety driving. Like I said, you can't have those two plays against players like this. They made us pay for it.
Q. Kirby, I understand Alabama scored 41 points tonight, but there's always a debate about the
quarterback situation. Is there going to be a debate about who should start in the playoffs? Can you just
sort of address that and whether you think you have a decision to make about who starts in the playoffs?
KIRBY SMART: We have a decision to make every week at every position, but I have the utmost confidence in
Stetson Bennett. I think he did some really nice things tonight. We go and reevaluate everything all the time, but he played well. It's a tough environment we put him in defensively and didn't -- we have to be able to run the ball and have a little bit of semblance of balance, and I felt like there was times tonight where we were getting into a scoring contest because our defense didn't get stops. And
you don't want to have to do that.
But I certainly have a lot of confidence in Stetson, and I have a lot of confidence in J.T. too.
Q. Kirby, you talked all week about how quick Bryce was at getting the football out. Do you credit to you
guys not getting enough pressure on him to that, or do you feel like their front actually really did a good job of blocking up you guys?
KIRBY SMART: I'd be hard pressed to say without watching it. We got pressure at times, and he got the ball
out. He escaped pressure and got it out. There was times we didn't. We rushed four a couple times and didn't get any pressure, and he held the ball. One of those touchdowns, it felt like he held the ball forever.
You can't do the same thing every play. You've got to pitch, and you've got to mix it up. Look, guys, I've seen a lot of good ones in this league. He's special. You might play a quarterback who's talented, but you might not play a group of skill receivers with that. It's the combination of the wideout group they have, at least those two guys, and him making some plays. He made plays with his feet.
Q. Coach Smart, during the week you said you'd have to figure out how your team would respond if you
ended up in a close game. Were you surprised the way the game kind of snowballed in the second and
third quarter?
KIRBY SMART: I wouldn't say surprised. I think there's a lot of comeback and fight to get the game back to where it was. We're driving down with a 14-point game and had a chance to score to make it seven. I had a lot of confidence. We had stopped them two or three drives in a row. We didn't want an onside kick. We said let's kick it deep and stop them. We did and drove the ball down, and then we stalled out.
There was a snowball. There was a period where we didn't play well, but there was also a period there where we came back and had a chance to get it to a seven-point game, and we didn't do that.
Q. Kirby, if you all end up playing Alabama again, what adjustments do you think you'll have to make to
give yourselves the best chance to win?
KIRBY SMART: I don't know that I could answer that right now. I'd like to review the tape and see it. The first answer would be don't leave people uncovered, you know what I mean? Like that's the first objective. Let's cover them, and then try to win some one-on-ones and get balls down.
Because look now, they're going to throw and complete balls. They're really good at doing that. At the end of the day, you have to put a body on a body and cover them. Some of the plays we gave were gifts.
Q. Kirby, after a loss like this, what's the first thing you tell your team?
KIRBY SMART: I love them, and I appreciate them. The outside noise begins now. We've heard it before. But
these guys are so solid. We've got such great leaders in there. I didn't have to say a lot in there because the leaders spoke up and talked about what they wanted and how they wanted the next couple weeks to go.
I think, when you've got that, you've built the right kind of kids.
