Nick Saban discusses how officials cost Alabama football a down and a touchdown against Ole Miss.
If the down in the Ole Miss game had been properly communicated by the officials, Alabama football might have had another chance to score.
Due to a lack of communication from the officials about what down it was, Alabama ultimately ran a quarterback sneak on third-and-5 on a third-quarter drive, which would not have made sense for a play call at that distance.
After No. 12 Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC) defeated No. 16 Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1) 24-10 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Nick Saban expressed his thoughts on the situation.
“I got a little hot about that one,” Saban admitted. “The guy who marks the ball will usually signal first down.” He arrived and marked the ball, and when they put their hand down, it appears to be short. We assumed it was brief. We
were penalised for a quarterback sneak, which cost us a down. We tried to get it done quickly before they could queue. Then, just as we’re about to snap the ball, they start moving the chains. We didn’t move the chains until we snapped the ball. The referee now claims I signalled first down. ‘Why didn’t the guy spotting the ball signal first down?’ I wondered. That was another one of those… when that happens, the football gods aren’t on your side.
you. It’s just a misunderstanding. We didn’t think the guy got a first down in the press box. Most of the time, it’s a first down right away. Then the quarterback failed to signal first down. We made a mistake. We could have recovered the situation if we hadn’t been trying to go fast, and that cost us a lot, so we had to kick the field goal.”
The point differential did not cost Alabama the game in the end, as the Crimson Tide won by 14 points. Nonetheless, if not for the blunder, the score could have been higher.
“When it was second down at the 16, Alabama’s 5-yard gain at the 11-yard line was really a first down,” CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore said. “The down-box indicators near that stakes showed third (down), but it was actually first.” That naturally irritated Coach Saban, because he thought he had third-and-inches when he ran the quarterback sneak, but it was actually a first down and 10 from 11 when they ran the sneak. So they missed that in terms of communication down there.
