Saban happy Alabama still undefeated

TUSCALOOSA — Nick Saban the perfectionist took a break from harping on his team’s penalties, turnovers and areas where he feels No. 2 Alabama needs to get better.

For a few moments, Saban let himself just be the proud coach.

“You can say what you want about our team but I bet you there weren’t very many people in this room betting that they’d be 6-0 right now,” he told a gathering of reporters. “I’m not sure I would have bet it either, if you want to know the truth about it.”

Too bad, because he probably could have gotten good odds. The Crimson Tide reached the regular season’s halfway point with a 17-14 win Saturday night over Kentucky that was more gutsy than pretty, and was also the team’s first real threat to perfection.

It surely offered Saban plenty of instruction points for an open date. Saban was hardly going soft on his team after the Tide (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) committed a rash of turnovers and penalties and allowed a late touchdown on busted pass coverage.

Those matters just didn’t seem quite so pressing Saturday night. The Tide doesn’t play again until Mississippi visits on Oct. 18.

“There’s a lot of lessons for us to learn,” Saban said. “It’s great for us to be able to learn those lessons and not have to lose. Our focus needs to be on how we can get better as a team and how we can play with more consistency.”

Among the trouble spots: Three turnovers, 10 penalties for 92 yards by a team that had been averaging less than four flags a game and an inconsistent performance from quarterback John Parker Wilson.

The bright spots were notable, too: Glen Coffee had 218 yards rushing, and the Tide was able to power its way to a 15-play drive for a field goal and a 17-7 lead with 2:12 left. Kentucky answered with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Mike Hartline to DeMoreo Ford.

“We had to have a score there at the end of the game to win it,” said Wilson, who was 7-for-17 for 106 yards with an interception. “We were able to run the ball right up the middle and pound them up front.”

It was enough to keep that perfect record intact and allow Alabama to go into the off-week in a good mood.

While Saban might not have been willing to wager on his team having such a start, he’s also stopping short of saying he expected less from the Tide. He’s a one-game-at-a-time kind of guy.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve exceeded our own expectations,” Saban said. “I always think of one game. I think we can win every game that we play. I think that you prepare that way as a coach.

“I never think about how many games we’re going to win or what our record’s going to be... or say, ’OK, we’re going to win these seven games and we’re going to lose these four.’ I never do that. I know what the next game is and we’re going to focus on putting our players in the best position that we can to try to win that game.”

Saban said he had stressed to his players the challenges of playing with college football pundits singing their praises following a win at Georgia. He said his team might not have handled that particularly well.

Then he goes back into proud coach mode.

“Our team has played at a very high intensity level, and they’ve played with a lot of toughness,” Saban said. “And they should be commended for that.”