Nick Saban recalls memories of 2011 overtime game between Alabama, LSU

Nick Saban has a long history with LSU. From coaching the team and leading them to a national championship in 2003 to being one of their biggest adversaries since becoming head coach at Alabama. One of the highlights of Saban’s career with the Crimson Tide was capturing the 2011 BCS national championship against LSU.

That title game was a rematch of their showdown from earlier in the year. The Tigers got the regular season victory in overtime, 9-6, over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. While preparing for their upcoming showdown with LSU on Saturday, Saban recalled his memories from the overtime loss.

“Yeah, I remember a lot about it,” said Saban. “There was a great game; there was a lot of great players on the field. Both teams competed extremely well in the game. We came up short in the game, but it was a physical, tough game. But I think the one thing that kind of shows you from 2011 to now is how much the game has really changed in a lot of ways. And I’m not saying it didn’t change for the better, but that was old-fashioned football; probably at its finest with two really good teams. But it’s a lot different now in terms of how people play.”

The Crimson Tide had a string of years where the school could argue they had the best run of running backs in college football. From 2009 to 2013, Alabama was led by running backs Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, and Eddie Lacy. Ingram would capture the Heisman Trophy in 2009. Complimentary to their physical run game, Alabama consistently had one of the best, if not the best, defenses in college football.

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As Saban pointed out, football has changed at all levels, especially in college. Back then, physicality was the name of the game. The teams with the more dominant defenses and running backs typically found themselves in a better position to claim a national championship. Today’s game is more about skill, and the physical run game is more of an afterthought. And although the game has expanded with more complex and intricate offenses at the college level, the recipe for successful defense remains the same for Saban.

“It still came down to your ability to execute. Even though there was more running, more Smash Mouth, you had to play physical and you had to beat blockers and you had to block people. So, even though the game plan may be a little bit simpler, the challenges were still pretty significant.”

In Saturday’s game, Alabama will look to blend the best of both eras using a dominant run game led by Jahmyr Gibbs and through the air with last year’s Heisman trophy winner quarterback Bryce Young. And if LSU attempts to keep up with the Crimson Tides’ high-powered offense, expect for defensive star and the odds-on favorite to be the number one pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, defensive lineman Will Anderson, to put a stop to that.