Earlier this year, Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin claimed that “weird things happen” at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. But before this year’s edition of the Iron Bowl, Alabama head coach Nick Saban disputes that notion.
During a recent appearance on his Hey Coach and The Nick Saban Show, Nick Saban downplayed the notion that “weird” things happen during games at Jordan-Hare, even bringing up the iconic “kick six” back in 2013.
“People talk about this stuff all the time, and I don’t see it,” Saban said according to On3. “Because the games that we haven’t been successful in, we made the errors and didn’t play well enough and they played really, really well. I mean, even in the Kick Six game that everybody talks about, I think we had the ball inside the 25-yard line five times and never scored a point when we were ahead by seven points in the third and fourth quarter — whether it’s missed field goal, blocked field goal, penalty in the end zone after getting the ball on the 7-yard line, whatever it is. That was ultimately what was the deciding factor in the game.
“But all those other things that happen before that that were missed executions, basically, and mental errors led to that circumstance having a chance to have significance. So when you look at the whole game as a total and you analyze what you did, we didn’t play very well, aight? The team that plays the best wins the game, and that’s what I’ve been trying to emphasize with our players.”
Saban seems to think his team’s losses in Jordan-Hare are a direct result of their preparation and execution, not because of any “weird” things that happen. We’ll have to see how Alabama executives during this weekend’s game against Auburn.
[On3]
