The Alabama Crimson Tide were beaten soundly by the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.
Nick Saban’s team had their chances, but it was apparent from start to finish who the better team was – and certainty who the better quarterback was, as Texas’ Quinn Ewers put on a show.
Following a seven-spot drop in the AP poll, the now-#10 Tide are left searching for answers following their 34-24 loss to Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns. The defeat snapped their 21-game home winning streak.
“The future is now,” Saban said, noting the urgency that’s needed to get their season back on tract.
Saban openly acknowledged the areas that required attention: “I don’t think it’s any huge secret or anything that we did not execute on a consistent enough basis.”
Greg McElroy: Alabama ‘more vulnerable than ever’ under Nick Sabanhttps://t.co/gr59I32M9B
— Usa Jaun News (@UsaJaun) September 12, 2023
He pointed to several issues that plagued his team, including an excessive number of turnovers, penalties, mental errors on defense, and insufficient pressure on the opposing quarterback.
Defensively, Alabama failed to sack Ewers even once, missed seven tackles, and allowed six receptions for 20 or more yards.
On the offensive front, the Crimson Tide struggled, managing only 3.06 yards per rush and allowing quarterback pressure on 46.2% of drop-backs.
Speaking of quarterback, Jalen Milroe struggled mightily. Other than a few plays where he showcased his cannon of an arm, he was wildly inaccurate and made some extremely poor decisions.
Saban’s primary focus remains on rectifying these issues, assigning responsibility to both the coaching staff and the players: “I think all these things are fixable. We have good players.”
In an analogy, Saban likened the loss to a challenging test early in the semester, one in which the team did not “grade out well.”
He posed a rhetorical question: “So what are we going to do to get a better grade?” Saban expressed confidence that his team would respond positively to the setback.
Alabama will travel to South Florida to take on the USF Bulls this Saturday. They will then kick off SEC play when they welcome in old friend Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels.
With the ugly loss, Saban and company know they have virtually no margin for error going forward.
Do you still look at Alabama as a legitimate national championship contender? Or did the loss to Texas raise too many unfixable concerns?
Is Milroe the answer at quarterback? Or should Saban turn to Tyler Buchner or Ty Simpson?