Alabama Football: Scariest thing in CFB is Nick Saban smiling after a win

There were plenty of smiles in Mercedes-Benz Stadium late Saturday afternoon. Alabama Football coach, Nick Saban had one of the biggest. A Saban smile is as impactful as a Saban snarl. An angry Saban never has a problem correcting mistakes made by his team – after which, they roar back with a vengeance.

What scares the rest of college football is a Nick Saban, post-game smile. He was beaming during Saturday’s celebration of the win over Miami.

After the game, Blake Toppmeyer called Saban a liar. The actual word liar was not used, but Toppmeyer wrote,

"Nick Saban fibbed when he said Alabama’s offense is ‘a work in progress.’ The Tide are loaded.Alabama’s 2020 national championship squad was one of the best teams in college football history.This team might be better."

It is, of course, WAY too early for a bold statement. But since Toppmeyer used the word ‘might’ he was spot on in describing how dominant the Alabama Crimson Tide was against the Miami Hurricanes.

You can be sure Dan Mullen, Lane Kiffin, Jimbo Fisher, Ed Orgeron – and coaches of potential CFB Playoff teams are suddenly worried the Crimson Tide might be as good as last season’s undefeated National Champions – or perhaps better.

Against the overmatched Canes, the Crimson Tide showed some rough edges. The Alabama football staff will have no problem using the game to school players on how they must improve. Saban said in the post-game that as the game “went on, we got a bit sloppy.”

With the media, Saban was more restrained than he was on the podium accepting the game trophy. But, he did not hide all his satisfaction. Asked about the offense, Saban said,

"I was very pleased. When you have that many new guys… you don’t know they’ll respond in a competitive situation. … I was very encouraged."

To an earlier question about Bryce Young, Saban made a simple statement no future, opposing defensive coordinator wanted to hear. Saban said Young “plays like a veteran.”

The only negative from the Miami game was the injury to Chris Allen. Allen was hurt after making a fumble-causing, crunching tackle. Allen has a foot injury that Saban said may cause him to miss the season.

The defense, with or without Chris Allen, showed it has the potential to be outstanding. Getting DeMarcco Hellams back at safety should shore up any weakness in the secondary. While Hellams and LaBryan Ray dressed Saturday, Saban said there was never any plan to play them. Both are expected back soon. Henry To’o To’o made a jarring tackle that hurt his elbow, but the injury was not serious.

Check out the video of the full post-game review.

Alabama Football has a practice game in Tuscaloosa next Saturday. The Mercer Bears won their opener 69-0 but the Tide will be able to pick the score in its second game.