Nick Saban on Alabama's Issues: 'If the Pupils Don't Get it, I Put it on Me'

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban took responsibility for the Crimson Tide's problems this season during an interview with ESPN's Mark Schlabach that published Thursday.

The Crimson Tide have particularly struggled in the turnover-margin department (six takeaways, 11 giveaways), and Saban made his remarks when referencing how that hasn't been a concern in the past.

"It's never been an issue," Saban said. "We're always plus in [turnover margin] and don't turn the ball over. We get turnovers on defense. We've always been in the plus category, and then we do a thing that shows what the cost of a turnover is. We take all the turnovers for the season and say, 'What was the result of that?' It's like turnovers gained are four or five points. Turnovers lost, you give up three or four points.

"Obviously, when you're teaching and regardless of what you're teaching and how you're teaching it, if the pupils don't get it, I put it on me. So, we've just got to find a better way to emphasize it. I watch practice where we do turnover drills. I'm talking about good guys against good guys to emphasize that. And when you emphasize things, people have to respond to it."

The 7-2 Crimson Tide fell to ninth in the College Football Playoff rankings after a 32-31 overtime loss at LSU on Saturday. That marked Alabama's second loss in three games after it also fell 52-49 at Tennessee. Alabama previously survived a pair of close calls to Texas (20-19) and Texas A&M (24-20).

A 7-2 campaign and a top-10 result in the CFP rankings is still a great season, even if that hasn't necessarily been the standard since Saban's arrival.

Alabama has won six national championships under Saban since he arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007. The Crimson Tide are 185-27 under his leadership, and they have never lost more than three games since 2008. Alabama has also finished top 10 in the Associated Press poll in each of the last 14 seasons.

However, this Alabama team has notably struggled in road contests and committed far too many penalties in addition to the turnover issues. Their 74.6 penalty yards per game rank eighth-most in the 131-team Division I-FBS level.

Ultimately, Saban said that the buck stopped with him.

"I'm not blaming anybody else in the organization," Saban said. "It's my responsibility. I know what plays they call; I'm involved in how they prepare for the week. I watch practice film with them. But I think people look for somebody to hate when things don't go right. But most of the stuff comes down to a lack of execution. It's not really what you're doing, it's how did you do it?"

Alabama now faces another tough road contest when it visits No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday. The Crimson Tide close the regular season with home games against Austin Peay and archrival Auburn.