Nick Saban: Alabama 'no longer viewed as an elite team'

Nick Saban gave his outlook on his team, and what needs to change for the Alabama Crimson Tide moving forward after Saturday’s stunning loss to unranked Texas A&M.

“We’re no longer viewed as an elite team,” Saban said in his closing thoughts on Thursday’s Hey Coach & The Nick Saban Show. “So what I’m hopeful of is that our players are going to respond in a way that they go out and play with more consistency.”

The legendary head coach continued.

“I hope everyone supports them in a positive way and that we play with the kind of intangibles that it’s going to take for us to be the kind of team that we’re capable of and that we can do it for 60 minutes in a game, which I still don’t think we’ve really accomplished,” he said. “And I think to beat the teams in our division, that’s what it’s going to take. And that’s something that our players are going to have to decide, our coaches are going to have to decide.

“We’re going to have to get and have an impact on them making those choices and decisions so we can have the kind of season that we want to have.”

Texas A&M stunned Alabama, bouncing back from two straight losses with a 41-38 win over the top-ranked Crimson Tide on a walk-off field goal. Alabama outgained Texas A&M 522-379 total yards but the Aggies made plays in critical moment to pull off the upset. 

The loss dropped Alabama from No. 1 to No. 5 in the country. As it stands, the Crimson Tide cannot afford another loss in order to make the College Football Playoff. Since it’s inception, a two-loss team has yet to make the playoff. Given the parity all across the country, it’s unlikely this season will be an exception.

Nick Saban will look to lead his team to a bounce back win against Mississippi State on Saturday. Alabama has not lost back-to-back regular season games since Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa in 2007, so the odds are not in Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach’s favor when the Crimson Tide visit Starkville this weekend. 

It is unfamiliar territory for some on the Crimson Tide though. The freshmen and sophomores, including Bryce Young, are in completely new territory, as Alabama went undefeated last season and the Crimson Tide had won every game this year until they fell to the Aggies on Saturday night.

Mississippi State will pose a threat to an Alabama defense that struggled defending the pass against the Aggies, unnatural for a Nick Saban-led team. Mike Leach and Mississippi State lead the SEC in pass yards per game, averaging 372 yards through the air per outing.