As with most everything, Alabama coach Nick Saban was able to almost immediately take his team's most-devastating loss of the season and turn it into a teaching tool.
A 41-34 loss to LSU on Saturday knocked the Crimson Tide (6-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) out of first place in the SEC West and made a BCS bowl berth a near-impossibility. Alabama hung with a vastly more-talented team until the final moments -- and even led by 10 late in the third quarter -- but ultimately did not make enough plays to win.
Saban's three season-long mantras -- consistency, intensity and execution -- failed the Crimson Tide in crucial situations, notably on a long game-tying touchdown drive by LSU and a killer fumble by quarterback John Parker Wilson that led to the Tigers' winning points. LSU's superior talent was able to exploit Alabama's periodic shortcomings in a way that other teams might not have been able to, Saban said.
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11-06-2007, 01:40 AM
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