Rogers column: No time for rest for No. 1 Alabama

He could have thrown a fit, instead, Alabama coach Nick Saban threw compliments.

To his team. To South Carolina’s team. To Steve Spurrier. To the SEC. They were like Halloween candy. Everybody who knocks on the door gets a treat.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the coach after Saturday’s mixed-bag performance in a 20-6 victory over the stubborn Gamecocks.

Mark Ingram’s brilliance was evident on a day when Heisman front-runners didn’t shine. Alabama’s sophomore running back gained 246 yards, the third-biggest day for a Crimson Tide running back ever.

But 92 yards passing? Four turnovers? Ten penalties?

Saban has exploded after poor, undisciplined performances in his first two years — even games Alabama has won. But Saturday night, while acknowledging there is much improvement to be made, the coach kept things in perspective.

“You can say it’s winning ugly or whatever, but it’s still winning,” Saban said.

Besides, the temper tantrums can return when the coaching staff goes over the game film with the players. It’s safe to say the coaches will have the players’ attention this week.

Saban just sounded relieved that on a day when his offense didn’t play well, Alabama won by two touchdowns. That was a landslide compared to the scares experienced by top-ranked Florida and third-ranked Texas on Saturday.

“You’ve heard me say before, you hope you don’t have to be punished to learn your lessons,” the coach said. “You know, there’s an old saying that success breeds success. I’m not sure that’s right. Because most of the time people are more committed to being successful when something bad happens. And they’re willing to change and do what they need to do to get it fixed. Sometimes they get a little relieved when things are going well and they don’t pay attention to detail like they should and they don’t get the same results.”

Twice in his postgame comments, the coach hinted that poor preparation may have led to the sloppy performance.

“Everybody wants to win when they walk through the tunnel. Everybody,” he said at one point. “But if you’re not ready to do it or you didn’t prepare yourself correctly, then you’re going to have a more difficult time being able to execute and do the things you need to do.”

Earlier in his remarks, Saban said, “Hopefully, our players learned a few things about what it takes on a consistent basis to not only play but to prepare to do things right.”

And give South Carolina credit. The Gamecocks were all but written off after falling early at Georgia in a thriller. Their defense can play and their offense is going to get better. That is a young team whose best days are ahead. Next year’s rematch in Columbia will be pretty interesting.

But my take on the night is Alabama looked like a tired team. Saban has said before he doesn’t like to play more than six or seven games consecutively. That was Week 7 – and it came after two emotional road victories.

But there is no rest this week. Tennessee is coming to town on Saturday – and the Vols were open. They will be rested, prepared and confident after seeing Alabama struggle.

It may be good for the Tide that such a big rival is next. Tired or not, Tennessee week demands focus and attention to detail. Certainly, first-year coach Lane Kiffin would love to snap Alabama’s 19-game regular season winning streak.

The Crimson Tide will have to match the Vols’ emotion and energy. They will also have to execute better than they did Saturday night.
It’s also clear that next week’s open date can’t get here soon enough.