Last night was a manic-depressive fiasco.
Coach Saban summarized the game well in his post-game remarks:
"The key thing for the players is how they’re going to respond to a loss. I really was proud of how our players fought back in the game to get the game to 30-24. Then, we gave up a big play, and we got down by 20 points, and we fought back again, and actually had the ball with an opportunity maybe to have a chance to win the game.
“I really liked the resilience of our players. They played for 60 minutes in the game, and they fought back, but the mistakes that we made, and all that we gave away, we could not overcome. I don’t want this to sound as if I don’t think Ole Miss played a really good game. I think they played a really good game, and I think they’ve got a really good team. I think they deserved to win this game, and they outplayed us, but [five turnovers] is just the fact of the matter.”
I don't know of any game where a team has five turnovers and wins.
What's more is that the offensive line play was inconsistent. A number of runs got no gain or lost yardage because of poor blocking. That must be cleaned up.
The surprise to me and others is that Cooper Bateman started the game at QB, yet Coker came in later. The latter guy clearly commanded the offense well, and Bateman showed some flashes, especially because of his arm strength. Then again, Coker threw some downright dumb throws.
By most statistical categories, the Crimson Tide dominated the game except in turnovers and explosive plays.
This one hurts because the Tide fought so hard to win the game and got pretty damn close a couple of times, but they couldn't overcome stupid turnovers.
I'm glad the loss came early in the season, but Ole Miss has a favorable schedule going forward. They still play it the SEC West of course, but If recall correctly, their East opponents this season aren't too tough. Alabama, on the other hand, plays Georgia and Tennessee.
From my amateur eyes, the two main concerns for Alabama going forward are consistent offensive line play and consistent QB play.
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