Alabama Football: What Nick Saban said about ULM game

Alabama Football beat Louisiana-Monroe 63-7 Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa. It could have been worse for the Warhawks. With a 1st-and-goal late, Crimson Tide backup quarterback, Ty Simpson took a knee four times.

In opening post-game comments, Nick Saban said the Crimson Tide made “some progress” against ULM. Saban acknowledged, special teams play against the Warhawks was outstanding. As Saban has said many times before, he repeated that ball protection is most important.

"The most important thing about punt return is possession of the ball. We’d like to break them and make big plays, but the most important thing is having a guy back there that can field the ball."

Along with cleanly fielding punts, a new Alabama Crimson Tide single-game record was set with 262 punt return yards. Maybe Saban did not want to focus too much on the returns because ULM’s punt coverage was glaringly porous.

Saban was not satisfied with the Tide’s offensive production on third down. The Crimson Tide was 1-for-6 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth down.

The offense was very productive in the red zone. After taking away the late-game kneel-downs, the Crimson Tide was a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone.

Although ULM dominated the time of possession at 36:23, the Warhawks gained a total of just 169 yards. The Alabama defense made four sacks and four quarterback hurries, plus an interception return for a touchdown by Will Anderson Jr.

Talking about Alabama football players, Saban said,

• “He (Jahmyr Gibbs) has been one of the most consistent players on offense.”
• “He (Bryce Young) made some good decisions not trying to force the ball down the field.”
• “19 (Kendrick Law) made a heck of a block on a wide receiver screen.”
• “He’s (Tyler Booker) a young player who has played extremely well. I view him as a starter competing with the other two (guards).”

Nick Saban talked about ULM’s punting formation and the opportunities it gave the Crimson Tide. He also mentioned the Warhawks’ split coverage in the secondary made it difficult to complete deep passes. He had nothing else to say about the Warhawks, which was almost as charitable as the four, late-game kneel-downs.

His complete post-game comments can be viewed below.

Next up for Alabama Football is 3-1, Vanderbilt, in Tuscaloosa.