The checklist of Alabama’s football season so far has been unlike any other since Nick Saban got things rolling in 2008.
A loss in the second game, and a 10-point home defeat at that. Replacing a starting quarterback only to replace the replacement with the original starter. A 3-3 tie with South Florida deep into the third quarter, and being ranked outside the Associated Press top 10 before hosting Tennessee here in mid-October.
Even the Crimson Tide’s two biggest wins to this point — the 24-10 home triumph over Ole Miss and the 26-20 victory at Texas A&M — were the result of rallies from halftime deficits, but this sudden change in Alabama’s landscape has not been met with disdain from Saban.
In fact, I believe this has been one of his more favorable experiences in a career filled with success.
“This has been a very enjoyable but challenging year,” Saban said. “We’ve got a different kind of team, and they’ve shown great resiliency in terms of how they’ve competed in games. We continue to have a lot of things that we can correct as coaches to try and help us continue to make progress, and I want the players to look forward in a positive way.