Nick Saban Told Alabama Players to Take Ole Miss Game 'Personal'

The AP No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide entered halftime of Saturday's game against the No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels down 17-14, but they rallied for a 30-24 win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Head coach Nick Saban told reporters after the win that he told his players to take the game "personal" and "play to the standard," via ESPN's Alex Scarborough:

"I think that's the big thing that we wanted to get our players to do is, you're responsible for the identity that you create and it's personal in terms of how you play and how you compete in the game to try to dominate the guy you're playing against. And I saw a lot of that in the second half."

Crimson Tide linebacker Byron Young echoed Saban's comments:

"It became personal to all of us just because we saw what people been saying. We saw people write us off. And we feel, like really, just for ourselves, we gotta show ourselves who we are, and we gotta show ourselves that we are what we say we are. So I think that was the biggest thing for us."

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, completed 21 of 33 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He also had seven carries for 10 yards.

Receivers Ja'Corey Brooks, Jermaine Burton and Cameron Latu all had touchdowns, and running back Jase McClellan, who saw a heavier workload after Jahmyr Gibbs hurt his ankle, finished with 19 carries for 84 yards.

While the Alabama defense allowed 17 first-half points, it was much better in the second half, allowing just one touchdown.

The Crimson Tide needed Saturday's win after falling to then-No. 10 LSU 32-31 last weekend at Tiger Stadium. However, they were already eliminated from reaching the SEC championship and likely will not make the College Football Playoff.

LSU's win over Arkansas on Saturday eliminated Alabama from SEC West title contention.

Alabama will host Austin Peay at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 19 before hosting Auburn on Nov. 26 to end the regular season. Though they may not have the chance to win a national championship, the Crimson Tide still could get a shot at one of the New Year's Six bowl games.