Nick Saban Says Alabama a 'Better Team Than the Way We Played' vs. USF

While Alabama is ranked outside of the Top 10 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2015, head coach Nick Saban remains confident in his team.

Saban told ESPN's Chris Low on Thursday that he thinks last week's 17-3 win over South Florida is not indicative of the No. 13 Crimson Tide's true talent.

"We'll respond. We've got a better team than the way we played last week," Saban said. "I don't know if we've got a good enough team to beat Ole Miss or anybody else we play, but we've got a better team than we played last week."

Alabama will have its first SEC game of the year on Saturday against No. 15 Ole Miss, which has averaged 52.7 points in its first three games. After losing to No. 11 Texas two weeks ago, last week's showing against South Florida was surprising, especially considering the Crimson Tide were facing a team that went 1-11 in 2022 and surrendered 41 points in its season opener against Kentucky.

Still, Saban believes this year's Alabama team has enough talent to compete against anyone.

"I like this team. I like this group," he said. "They've worked hard. They've got a good attitude about things. We just got to execute better and pay better attention to detail, and we've got some areas on our team that need to play better."

Saban has won six of his seven national championships at Alabama. Despite the team's past years of success, he feels the struggles this year are a natural progression for any program.

"The standard here doesn't change, but this is also a test of your humility," Saban said. "You say, 'Hey, I don't care what anybody says. I know what the expectations are.' But, I mean, how many people have been able to go 16 years and not have a bump in the road?"