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Saban Addresses The Press After 56-6 Win
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban held a press conference following the 56-6 victory over Charleston Southern. He recapped the game from yesterday, as well as the upcoming contest with the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium this next Saturday.
Saban spoke of the "tremendous contribution" this group of seniors have made to the Alabama football program, "not only on the field, but obviously in the way they represented off the field" such as in the classroom and the community. He said it was good to see the parents of the seniors this weekend, and to get to honor these who "have contributed and done so much hard work to help this program be what it is."
The first question dealt with the younger running backs being put into the game, specifically Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris. The reporter asked if it was a goal coming into yesterday's game to get some game experience for the young runners "after the game was taken care of."
Saban replied, "We wanted to get those guys in the game, and get them to play as early and often as we could. Both guys, I think, got to play...and we didn't end up playing Derrick (Henry) that much, but I think it was more important to get the other guys the experience."
Another reporter asked if there had been a goal as to how many yards or how many runs the coaches had wanted to get the young backs today. Saban answered, "No, we were just kinda going by the scoreboard. We were going to play Damien early, you know, sort of roll him in. So, you know, he played early some. Then when we got ahead by 21 or 28 points then we were going to kind of shut some of the guys down and make sure we started giving other guys opportunities to develop."
The next reporter asked Saban about Cyrus Jones. Saban said, "You know we've had issues and problems in the past trying to get those balls fielded when they rugby-punt. We really wanted to do a good job of holding the guys up at the line, which I think we did. We put two guys back there deep, maybe to keep the ball from rolling so much, and (Richard) Mullaney and Cyrus both did a good job of that. The one ball I think actually hit...I saw the bean bag go down...I think it hit 21 and Cyrus picked it up and ran for a touchdown. And the other one he did a really good job of just getting a good hop and fielding the ball...you know, Cyrus has got really good running skills. He was a receiver when he first came here and did a really good job at that. You know, the last two weeks we've made some big plays in the punt return game, and I think that's something we want to continue to build on."
On to the next reporter asking about if Saban thought the team was starting to hit it's strike in all phases of the game. He said, "You know, you're only as good as your last play. I like the progress of the team, but we've got to be able to continue to be able to execute, and play with consistency, and we've obviously got a big challenge playing on the road in a rivalry game. It's one of the best rivalries in the country next week, so we've got to just keep trying to improve and focus on getting better.
"I said on my radio show the other night that I don't think anybody thought after the Old Miss game this team would be in the position they're in right now, which is a tribute to the good job that the coaches have done and the hard work the players have done to improve and do the things that would allow us to play winning football on a more consistent basis."
The next reporter asked if Saban thought the defense was now better prepared to do what Auburn does offensively. Saban replied, "Well, you know, I'm not prepared to say that right now because I haven't watched them yet. We work, as coaches, to try to do as good a job in this game for our players as any other game...and you know, tomorrow (Sunday) we need to start working on that game. And you know, I think it's important that our defense play as well as they're capable of playing against what I know is a very difficult offense to defend...so that they understand what they need to do to be able to defend it, and do a good job of tackling, and everybody playing their responsibility, and doing their job. That's always a challenge when we play this offense."
Saban was then asked to speak about the offensive efficiency of the first team and how effectively they moved the ball while they were out there. Saban said, "We wanted to try to throw the ball a little bit, and work on the passing game in this game some. We didn't probably get to do it as much as we like, but when we did do it I thought the players did a good job of executing. That's probably something from a protection standpoint, from a route-running standpoint, from just a consistency standpoint...we need to be able to do that so we can have the kind of balance offensively we need when we play the good defensive teams, which we'll play a good defensive team this week."
The next reporter asked Saban to speak to the kind of year Henry was having. He responded, "He's had a great year, and it wasn't his fault that we didn't give him a lot of opportunities today, but...he did score a lot of touchdowns, and he's been a very productive player for us, he works hard, he's got a great attitude, he cares a lot about the team, he's a great competitor, and hopefully he'll continue to finish the year, like we'd all like to finish the year, by continuing to be productive and continue to improve."
After discussing an injury, substitutes and the movement of some players/positions for this game, the talk then went back to the upcoming game with the Auburn Tigers. The next reporter asked if Saban had developed any type of formula, from having been a coach at different schools, for dealing with a rival game.
Saban answered, "You know, I think that you've just got to focus on trying to play your best, and don't get affected by some of the emotional aspects that sometimes surround these kind of games, and focus on what you need to do to execute and do your job well...and everybody on the team's gotta sort of be responsible to do that, and have the right mindset to play the kind of game that these games are when it comes to physical, tough sort of...fights. You've got to expect that in these kind of games. But I also have seen these kind of games where guys get so sort of wired emotionally that they don't do a good job of executing, or they run out of gas at some point in the game...so I really do think you've got to focus on execution and just playing your best football...and have the expectation that it's going to be a really tough game, and that you're going to have to fight for fifteen rounds.
Saban then thanked the reporters and left.
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Alabama Football
2nd-Ranked Alabama Gets 56-6 Win
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The second-ranked team in the nation took care of business at home.
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1, SEC) got off to a dominating start and man-handled visiting Charleston Southern (9-2) 56-6 before a crowd of 100,611 on Senior Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Bama scored touchdowns on its first five offensive possessions as well as two electrifying scores on punt returns. Alabama led at the half 49-0.
Alabama running back Derrick Henry didn't even play the entire first half, yet rushed for 68 yards and scored two touchdowns on just nine carries. In addition, Henry added another 28 yards on two pass receptions. Cyrus Jones electrified the crowd, both in the stadium and across the country, as he did something no other Alabama football player had done: score two touchdowns in the same game off punt returns.
The Tide was able to play a lot of young players in the game, as starters were pulled early due to the large lead. Both the offense and defense dominated the less-talented Charleston Southern team on Saturday. Quarterback Jake Coker finished the game with 11 completions on 13 passes for 155 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and had no interceptions for the short time he was in the game. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley pulled in four catches for 49 yards, ArDarius Stewart also had four receptions gaining 45 yards in the contest and wideout Richard Mullaney caught one pass for a 21-yard touchdown.
Alabama back up running back Bo Scarbrough was able to strut his stuff. Scarbrough picked up 69 yards on 10 carries for the game. Damien Harris had 44 yards on 10 carries, Ronnie Clark picked up 11 yards on two carries, Derrick Gore had one carry for four yards and Coker had one yard on one carry.
The dominating Alabama defense held Charleston Southern to just 134 total yards of offense (85 rushing, 49 passing). CSU had only eight first downs in the game, was only 1-of-10 on third downs, and committed two turnovers.
Derrick Henry continues to shine. This was Henry's 16th consecutive game with a touchdown. He scored two in yesterday's contest, allowing him to tie Trent Richardson for the school-record 21 rushing touchdowns in a single season. Henry also is tied with Richardson in fourth place on the Tide's career rushing touchdowns list at 35.
Cyrus Jones did something no Alabama player has ever done. He took two punts and returned them for touchdowns in the same game. The first was a 43-yard punt return for touchdown, and the second as an electrifying 72-yard return for a touchdown.
Jones was also named the Player of the Game by the announcing crew from the SEC Network. Jones finished the night, in addition to the two punt returns for touchdowns, with three tackles, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and intercepted a pitch out by the opposing quarterback.
Kayce Smith, sideline reporter for the SEC Network spoke with Alabama head coach Nick Saban immediately after the game ended. She asked him how he felt that the team did keeping their focus.
Saban responded, "I'm pleased with the way we played in the game really. You like to keep momentum, so it was good that our players played...a lot of guys got to play. I'm happy with the way we competed in the game."
Smith complimented the defense on another "dominant performance" and asked Saban where they could continue to get better. He said, "Well, you know, we're going to be challenged every week, and we've got to make a lot of adjustments. I'm happy about the way our guys played today, and hopefully we can continue to build on that."
The subject of Auburn and the Iron Bowl being next week came up next, and Smith asked Saban, "How do you prepare for Auburn?"
"Well you know, the Iron Bowl is one of the biggest rivalries," Saban commented. "We have a lot of respect for those folks, and you know we're going to have to play really well on the road to get it done...and hopefully we can take some things we did today and improve on them.."
Next up was an interview with Cyrus Jones, and Smith asked him, "What does this day mean to you?" He responded, "It means the world, man, just to come out here...you know, the last game at Bryant-Denny...it's been a long, enjoyable four years. I just treasure this experience and it just felt good to get out there and make some plays in my last game."
Smith then asked Jones about the message this team has sent to the college football world and how that translates into building on that heading into the Iron Bowl. Jones said, "It's just a good stepping stone on to the Iron Bowl. We know what type of rivalry and what type of game that's going to be. The atmosphere is going to be crazy so we're just going to take this one and enjoy it and get back to work and get ready for Auburn on Saturday."
Saturday was Senior Day at the University of Alabama, with 25 seniors playing their final home game.
Alabama will conclude its 2015 regular season with in-state rival Auburn this next Saturday, November 28th at Jordon-Hare Stadium. Game time is 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by the CBS network.
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Southeastern Conference Football Scores
ALABAMA Crimson Tide defeats Charleston Southern 56-6 on Senior Day
Mississippi State beats Arkansas 51-50 in a high-scoring squeakerFlorida manages a close win over Florida-Atlantic 20-14 in overtime
The Citadel upset South Carolina 23-22
Ole Miss blasts LSU 38-17
Auburn defeated Idaho 56-34
Texas A&M blanks Vanderbilt 25-0
Georgia defeated Georgia Southern 23-17
Tennessee downed Missouri 19-8
Kentucky beats Charlotte 58-10
