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Nick Saban had a specific request for the Alabama student section ahead of the No. 11 Crimson Tide’s top 20 showdown against the rival Tennessee Volunteers at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Alabama found themselves in an early deficit against the No. 17 Vols, but they were able to rally back and secure a 34-20 win after outscoring Tennessee 27-0 in the second half.
After the game, Saban thanked the Alabama student section after calling for them to make a lot of noise ahead of Saturday’s game.
They answered the call, and the Crimson Tide head coach took notice.
Nick Saban emphasized the importance of the crowd noise inside of Bryant-Denny Stadium to close out ‘Hey Coach’ this week. pic.twitter.com/7cUUQiuNdf
— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) October 20, 2023
“You can have a huge impact with the noise that you make,” Saban said prior to the game. “This team’s trying to go fast. They run 2.7 plays every minute in the game. So you can affect that and disrupt that by making noise.”
When the final whistle blew and the crowd was lighting up their cigars in the stands, Saban made his way over to the student section to show his appreciation.
Nick Saban waving to the crowd and Alabama fans smoking cigars after the 34-20 win over Tennessee @abc3340 pic.twitter.com/yvFdWkI9TJ
— Chris McCulley (@ChrisMcCulleyTV) October 22, 2023
Saban also spoke on the fans’ impact during his post-game media availability.
“I also wanted to thank them because of what a great job they did and the impact they had on the game,” The 71-year-old head coach told the media. “I think they kept the energy level up for our team and kept the momentum going… It was fantastic.”
Nick Saban explains why he ran over to the fans after the game to thank them pic.twitter.com/CV6VMdcKjT
— Nick Kelly (@_NickKelly) October 21, 2023
With the win, Alabama advanced to 7-1 on the season.
The Crimson Tide will take next weekend off before returning to action on Saturday, November 4, when they welcome the LSU Tigers to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Entering this weekend’s game against Army, LSU was ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25 poll.
