Michigan's huddle approach the difference-maker according to Nick Saban
Alabama head coach Nick Saban has been making the media rounds after the Tide's 27-20 overtime loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Monday.
After having multiple days to process the loss, Saban appeared on ESPN's Pat McAfee Show on Thursday during his normal weekly appearance during the college football season.
Saban was asked about the constant pressure Bama quarterback Jalen Milroe faced throughout the game and credited the Wolverines for outplaying the Tide offensive line throughout the game.
"I don't think it was Jalen Milroe's, necessarily, all his fault," Saban said. "The first play of the game, we're supposed to be sliding that way, tackle slides, guard doesn't, quarterback gets blown up. Third play of the game, they pressured us and we didn't pass off the game inside. Once your quarterback starts getting affected a little bit, even though it's not necessarily his fault completely, it's tough to play. We got to the point in the game where we didn't have a lot of confidence in being able to throw the ball. Not because of our skill guys but our inability to protect. We did run the ball pretty effectively in the game. But, to answer your question, I was not surprised by their front seven. The quality of the people they have, especially the inside players. Those guys do a really good job. They've got a good scheme, they're really well-coached. They did a nice job of defending us."
During his answer of the question, Saban also made an interesting point of his own regarding U-M and how they played against the Tide.
He pointed out something that surprised his program throughout the game, the fact that the Wolverines huddled throughout the game, which gave U-M an advantage to not allow the opposition to diagnose what was coming and tendencies the team might have in a certain scenario.
That decision by the U-M staff turned out to be one of the reasons it came out on top.
"One of the things that was a big difference in this game, which nobody ever talks about — it's a very simple thing," Saban said. "We're in no-huddle and when you play a no-huddle team and you're not going fast, which we didn't go fast enough, their signal-caller is basically making the calls to defend the formation and the alignment that you're in. They're the only team that we played all season that got in the huddle. It used to be every team was in the huddle so we play our first game of the season where we're playing against a team that's in the huddle so you don't have the advantage of seeing those formations until they come out of the huddle so you gotta make calls.
"That's changed a lot in football, the simple concept of do you huddle or go no-huddle? It does effect the game in a way that most people wouldn't even imagine."
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