Nick Saban: Alabama was not prepared for Tennessee's chunk plays

Nick Saban wasn’t happy when Tennessee came out and punched them in the mouth to begin their showdown. Due to plenty of first quarter mistakes, Saban was livid as the Volunteers led the Crimson Tide early.

In his halftime interview, Saban lit into his defense for busted coverages that led to points for Tennessee

“Well we busted two coverages for two touchdowns,” Saban told ESPN’s Katie George. “We had them stopped and gave them an opportunity by roughing the kicker when it was third down and about 30. Turned the ball over on the nine-yard line — so we’ve done a lot of shooting ourselves in the foot which we need to get fixed, because these guys are capable of moving the ball and scoring points.”

Luckily for Saban, Alabama’s defense came to their senses after some early slip-ups. After the clock ran out in the first quarter, Tennessee didn’t pick up a first down until the fourth.

In his post-game press conference, Saban elaborated on the plays that he was so hot about during the game.

“We weren’t lined up and ready to play on the 70-yard touchdown,” said Saban. “Josh [Jobe] was standing there looking at the sidelines look for a signal, and they went fast and snapped the ball. The guy ran right by him before he was ever even was lined up and ready to play. That really wasn’t a bust.

“[Daniel] Wright getting beat on the chop route was not really a bust. But then we got them 3rd and 8 on the eight, and we busted. Then, the two longer passes early in the game — we didn’t execute.”

The first quarter wasn’t pretty, but whatever Saban did to change things up helped Alabama trounce Tennessee throughout the rest of the night.

Saban: ‘The offense answered.’

Furthermore, Saban praised his offense’s ability to respond to the pressure their defense put on them.

“The offense answered, and we kept scoring points,” said Saban. “I think it was big to get an interception at the end of the game, which sort of put the game out of reach. Changed the game in the fourth quarter.”

Still, Saban recognizes there’s plenty to fix for the Crimson Tide defense. They got away with their mistakes against Tennessee, but they won’t be as lucky against stiffer competition.

“We need to fix those things,” said Saban. “We had some matchup issues out there today that we’re going to have to work on and try to get fixed.”

Nick Saban and Alabama will enjoy a bye week this weekend. Afterwards, it remains to be seen if the Crimson Tide’s changes work in their next game against the LSU Tigers.