A week after pulling off a thrilling win against Georgia, Alabama lost to an unranked Vanderbilt team. It was the Crimson Tide’s first loss to the Commodores in 40 years. On Friday, former Alabama coach and current ESPN college football analyst Nick Saban, spoke about those games.
Speaking with Pat McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban noted how easy it is for a team to underperform after a big win.
“I think that what you see is a lot of peaks and valleys in College Football right now,” Saban said. “A lot of teams that have had big wins have significant letdowns the next week. I always talk about complacency. But if you put a little complacency with a little arrogance because you had a big win — wherever it was — and then you don’t focus on the right things the next week. You really don’t get the kind of results that you’d like to have. Because when you’re not focused on the right stuff, your execution goes to pot in a hurry.”
Saban then referenced an old speech of his that was sent to him after Alabama’s loss to Vanderbilt.
“It was about ‘nothing,'” Saban said. What are you entitled to when you get up in the morning? Nothing. What should you expect from other people? Nothing. If you have ability and you don’t have discipline and focus, what do you get? Nothing. If you don’t prepare the right way and pay attention to detail, what do you get? Nothing. So nothing is more important than trying to be the best you can be every day.”
“You see a lot of peaks & valleys in College Football right now..
A lot of teams that have had big wins have significant let downs the next week..
You’re entitled to nothing when you wake up in the morning & nothing is more important than trying to be the best you can be every… pic.twitter.com/lbz3d0Mzir
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 11, 2024
He’s certainly correct Alabama is certainly not the first team in college football history to lose a surprising game one week after winning a big one. Knowing how common that is, Saban explained how he tried to prevent that while dealing with his teams.
“I was always much harder on a team when we won a game,” he said. “And if we won a big game, I mean it was hell to pay. And if we lost, I was like…”
“Build up,” McAfee interjected. “Make us feel better. ‘Cause the players all feel terrible after a massive loss.”
“Yeah,” Saban said. “Nobody feels worse — that’s what fans don’t understand — nobody feels worse about playing than the players.”
[Pat McAfee on X]
