How Nick Saban wants Alabama to get over its loss to Tennessee

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The sour stench of panic didn't linger successful the aerial astatine the University of Alabama connected Monday. Only a fewer crushed brew cans connected the sidewalk were a reminder of the miserable play that was. Students inactive walked to people nether monolithic oak trees. The enactment astatine Starbucks connected field was inactive interminably long. And, yes, pumpkin spice was inactive successful stock. Across the street, Alpha Phi inactive said it "loves the Tide" according to the monolithic banner hung from the sorority house, written successful swirly letters champion described arsenic modern farmhouse chic.

After the Crimson Tide's heartbreaking decision to Tennessee, each was not lost. A billboard close disconnected the interstate promoting a barbecue associated doubled arsenic a rallying cry. Beside a representation of a pulled pork sandwich, the advertisement featured Alabama manager Nick Saban's slogan successful each caps, "TRUST THE PROCESS."

Saban and the Tide person been present before. There were losses to LSU successful 2011, Texas A&M successful 2012, Ole Miss successful 2015 and Auburn successful 2017 that felt similar omens of a dynasty successful diminution but alternatively were lone hiccups connected the mode to much nationalist championships. Many of the aforesaid players who waded done the field-storming Saturday successful Knoxville, Tennessee, dealt with the nonstop aforesaid concern a twelvemonth and a week earlier astatine Texas A&M; some games featured walk-off tract goals and Tide players leaving successful defeat. Alabama rebounded from that nonaccomplishment successful College Station, bushed Georgia to triumph the SEC and past mislaid to Georgia successful the nationalist rubric game.

Which is not to accidental that each concern is the aforesaid and everything is going to beryllium OK this clip around. This Alabama squad mightiness not beryllium susceptible of reaching the College Football Playoff. It has issues that indispensable beryllium resolved first, whether it's undisciplined play successful wide or, much specifically, a struggling walk defense, receivers who can't get unfastened and a mediocre violative line. The Tide pb the FBS successful some penalties (66) and drops (21).

When Saban met with the media astatine noon Monday, helium didn't rise his dependable oregon shriek successful defiance. Instead, helium struck a dual tone, focusing connected his team's country for betterment portion taking a hard enactment that anyone not consenting to enactment successful the enactment volition beryllium successful information of riding the bench.

"This is thing from the bottommost up, each right?" Saban told reporters. "I mean, I'm talking astir coaches, I'm talking astir each player, I'm talking astir me. We've each got to bash a amended occupation to assistance these guys larn from their mistakes, amended and get better."

Learning occurs champion erstwhile you marque a mistake, Saban aboriginal said, "but you person to instrumentality vantage of that."

At 1 point, Saban was asked astir penalties -- a sore taxable aft his squad committed 17 against Tennessee and 15 against Texas -- and audibly sighed. He tin unrecorded with penalties that travel from players being excessively aggressive, but intelligence mistakes similar mendacious starts and offsides are different matter. They're the effect of atrocious habits created successful practice, helium said. And if players proceed to marque the aforesaid mistakes, past "maybe we request to play with idiosyncratic else," helium warned.

But Saban defended his squad arsenic well.

"Look, our players each privation to win," helium said. "And careless of however everybody feels, we consciousness worse. You know, the players are retired determination competing. They're playing hard. Maybe not ever playing smart. Maybe making excessively galore errors that we request to fix. And arsenic coaches we request to assistance hole them."

Saban said his squad felt choky against Tennessee. In the passageway earlier the game, helium noticed however quiescent the players were. "Why aren't you guys chanting?" helium told them. "What's up with that?"

Will Anderson Jr., the person of the defence and a projected apical NFL draught prime astatine extracurricular linebacker, noticed the soundlessness too. He said helium could consciousness his teammates' "anxiety."

"The strength was not wherever it needs to be," helium said.

During the team's agelong play Sunday, Anderson and the veterans huddled and spoke astir however to get things backmost connected track. Pay attraction to the small things, Anderson demanded, adjacent if it's arsenic small arsenic making definite everyone has their shirts tucked successful astatine practice.

"I heard a batch of guys aft the crippled saying, 'We cognize what this feels like. We cognize however to crook this around,'" Anderson recalled. "I said, 'But bash we truly cognize however to get done this? Do we cognize what it takes? Are we consenting to get implicit the hump?'"

So far, truthful good.

Anderson likes however the squad responded during Monday morning's workouts. He saw vigor and enthusiasm. He has said he's "very confident" and believes "we're going successful the close direction."

Only clip volition tell, of course. On Saturday, Alabama volition invited No. 24 Mississippi State to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Saban called Bulldogs manager Mike Leach "one of the astir hard guys offensively to defend."

Leach's Air Raid discourtesy is successful bully hands this play with seasoned backmost Will Rogers and a heavy radical of receivers. What's more, Saban said, it is much balanced, with a amended moving game, than successful years past.

"It's going to beryllium a challenging crippled for us," Saban said, "and we'll spot however players respond to the concern we've created for ourselves."

Survive Mississippi State and trips to LSU and No. 7 Ole Miss are up next. After that, it's connected to look Austin Peay and Auburn.

As Saban told his squad postgame successful Knoxville, there's nary much country for error. But, helium said, "We tin execute each extremity that we had astatine the commencement of the season."

Win retired and Alabama tin inactive triumph the SEC West and scope the league title game. It mightiness adjacent get a rematch with Tennessee successful Atlanta.

But that's a agelong mode away.

For now, Saban wants his squad to play with a antithetic cognition -- focused but loose. He wants to perceive the players chant successful the passageway again.

Think of it similar a pickup hoops game, helium said. If your hostile hits a 3, you don't cower successful fear. You support playing and person fun.

Don't interest astir the scoreboard, helium said. Don't interest astir the outcome.

"Just spell play," Saban said. "Compete. And past erstwhile the game's implicit and if we bash that and we bash it good arsenic a corporate group, we tin unrecorded with the results."

In different words: Trust your grooming and spot the process.

Alabama has been successful this spot before, and it's nary clip for panic. Tuscaloosa is inactive lasting with much than a period near successful the regular season, travel what may.